


Fusion Charge

by tatersalad5001



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Nightmares, Non-binary Yubel, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slice of Life, YGOtober, YGOtober 2018, referenced possession???? i dunno man yall know how gx is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-07-21 02:51:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16150997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatersalad5001/pseuds/tatersalad5001
Summary: “‘Course I know you,” Jesse replied, giving Chazz a strange look. “Everyone at North Academy does. You were the best, everyone who was there when you were talks about you constantly. You’re The Chazz. You’re their hero.”“I mean, yeah, of course you do,” Chazz recovered quickly. “I was the best thing to ever happen to North Academy, you should be singing my praises.”(Writings of prompts for YGOtober!)





	1. A Lonely Place

**Author's Note:**

> Decided I wanted to write for at least some of the prompts over at [ Ygotober 2018](http://askkaibaseto.tumblr.com/post/178560794441). Don't expect all of them, and don't expect all of them to be so long...haha, whoops. I'm very busy, especially this upcoming week. This college boy's got so much going on, and this isn't the only writing project I'm working on right now, not to mention my actual ongoing stories here. But I'll try to do at least something for the most of it! And at least I guess we're starting off with a bang. I'll probably be sticking to GX for at least most of it. GX is.....good...
> 
> I'll also be posting these on [tumblr](http://datanamines.tumblr.com/tagged/ygotober2018) if you'd rather follow along there. But on this end, this first prompt will be its own chapter, but future smaller prompts might be combined into one chapter. In those cases, chapters probably won't be updated until the last day for that prompt bundle. Whoops, sorry! If I start to fall behind (which I'm sure I will), I might also either play catch up and do multiple fast, or just straight up skip some. So, uh, don't expect me to follow the actual schedule super strictly...? Sorry. I, uh, I have so little experience with javascript and I don't love it right now and trying to figure out how to use it for things with deadlines approaching is stressful. I think I'll have more free time after this week. If I'm not updating super consistently here, I might be updating on tumblr, and if I'm not updating super consistently on tumblr, I might be updating here. Probably won't align completely.
> 
> This is the first prompt: A Lonely Place! Featuring Jesse Anderson and Yubel, taking place in season three. Hope y'all enjoy!

“Well, Yubel, looks like it’s just you and me,” Jesse declared as he turned back to face the duel spirit. He wiped away some of the sweat dripping down his face; the desert world sure was hot, and this duel wasn’t going to be easy.

Yubel gritted their teeth. “You all just keep taking Jaden away from me…” As they trailed off, they looked around. “It really is just us, isn’t it? You sent that school back to your dimension and let yourself stay behind. And you’re really fine with that?”

“Of course! I gotta help my friends,” Jesse replied. “They’ve helped me so much, it’s the least I can do. If I stay here, I can keep them safe from you!”

“Jaden? Needing to be kept safe from me?” Yubel laughed. “You couldn’t be further from the truth. But fine, you want to stay behind? Let’s finish this.”

In the end, the duel was a draw. Yubel slumped forward at that. Jesse rubbed at one of his arms. What did that mean for him, for the others? Losing duels here before turned people into duel ghouls, but he was still himself. Was everything going to be okay?

“A draw…” Yubel sighed. “Maybe you accomplished something. From a draw, I don’t have enough energy to go after Jaden. I’m stuck here for now. But, then, so are you.”

“It’s worth it, to keep them safe,” Jesse insisted.

“If I were you, I’d be more worried about yourself,” Yubel told him. “You need food and water to live. Most of that was sent away with Duel Academy. I wonder how long you’ll last? Meanwhile, all I’ll need to get my strength up is to win a duel or two. You can’t outlast me.”

“Bur as long as I…” Jesse reached for his cards, ready for another round, but Yubel shook their head.

“There’s no point. I’m in no hurry. I’ve waited this long, what’s another few days? You’ll wither away in this desert, and once you do, I’ll be ready to take exactly what I want.”

And with that, Yubel left him alone.

They’d been right, of course, about the supplies. Jesse would’ve had a hard enough time finding anything if he was able to navigate the desert. As it was, he was lost, and finding anything was just about impossible.

It was hot. He was tired and hungry. Yubel had to still be in the desert somewhere, but he couldn’t find them. Even the Crystal Beasts had been silent since that duel had ended. Jesse was in the desert all alone.

Everyone else was home and safe. That'd been his main goal, biggest priority. But now…now what? What came next? Trying to get back himself? It was pretty clear that couldn't happen. Not nearly enough duel energy, and as time dragged on, he really didn't have it in him to duel again unless he absolutely had to, unless Yubel showed up again. Not that anyone was around for him to duel anyway, this dimension seemed much emptier than it'd been before. There was no one else he could help now, no one who could help him either. So, survival it was, but there wasn't he could do towards that.

His stomach growled. A memory flooded in his mind, of Jaden chowing down on fried shrimp at dinner in the Slifer dorms. It was nothing unique, he'd made plenty of memories like that in quite a short time. Maybe Jaden was doing just that right now.

Jesse couldn't help but think of his friends.

Were they worried about him? Did they miss him? He'd just wanted them to get back home safe, to live their lives again. Jesse wasn't dense, he didn't expect them to come after him. Not for a long time, anyway. The duel energy they'd require for that was intense. And he wanted them to keep going and to be happy, but… He'd be lying if he said he wasn't afraid of them just moving on completely, forgetting about him. It's not like he'd known any of them for long, he can't have made that much of an impact. There was no way they didn't all have better friends than him. It was a dumb fear, he knew. He knew they all liked him, cared about him. But the hotter the sun got and the more fatigue settled in his bones, the louder the voices in the back of his mind became.

And, well, maybe they were relieved he was gone. No, that was probably a bit harsh… Maybe they weren't that concerned about the whole thing. More than one of them had observed he had a lot in common with Jaden. It'd all been mostly in jest, sure, but there was truth rooted in it. He and Jaden were very passionate about dueling, they could talk about cards and duel all night easily. They could both see spirits. They both had a lot of skill and talent, and had strong connections with their cards. Neither of them were pulling the best academic grades, outside from actual dueling. Surely he wasn't so necessary in their lives. He wasn't disliked, sure, but everyone else already had Jaden, and knew Jaden better. And Jesse was sure that he couldn't beat Jaden in duel, not even with Rainbow Dragon, making Jaden better than him. What did he bring to the table that Jaden didn't? If his friends didn't need him, why would they want him?

He knew that was stupid, too. That couldn't be right. They didn't think like that. But it was hard to drown out the thoughts.

Yubel did come back, did appear to him again. But not for the reasons he'd have guessed. Before he could say a word about stopping them from chasing after Jaden, they looked over him with a smile.

"I'll admit, I'm surprised," they said. He blinked. "I intended to use you as bait. Jaden clearly favors you over me, so if he wouldn't come back for me, I was sure he'd come back for you. Then we could be reunited again, without me having to chase him down. But no one's come for you. He's tossed you aside, just like he did to me."

"No one's under any obligation to save me," Jesse replied. "But even if they wanted to… Well, I don't know much about duel science. But I'd reckon it'd take awhile for anyone to make it back here with a sure way home."

Yubel seemed unimpressed at that. "Rainbow Dragon could send you and anyone else to your world if you have the duel energy for it. Of course you didn't after sending the whole school away before, and I kept everyone else here away from you so you couldn't gather it up again. But if someone came for you, you could gain it back easily. And they sent you your dragon through dimensions using duel energy. They have Jaden at their disposal; how long could it take him to gather enough duel energy to save you?"

"Maybe the equipment broke," Jesse suggested as he dusted some sand off his pants. "Or maybe they can't send people over. Not yet, anyway."

"Or maybe Jaden's abandoned you," Yubel added.

Jesse shrugged. "He doesn't have to save me… I knew what I was doing when I sent everyone home. Jay and the others are safe, and that's what matters."

"Sure, you know that. But it doesn't make it easy, does it?" they asked. "Don't try to deny it, I know it hurts. Even if I couldn't read it from you, I've felt it, too. It seems all Jaden knows how to do is throw his friends away."

It was clear they were just trying to get to him. He shouldn't give in to that, let them have the upper hand on him. Letting Yubel have any sort of power in this conversation couldn't lead to anything good. But…he was tired, too tired to disagree and fight them on it. Especially when they weren't completely wrong. It was too hot and he could barely think straight.

"So, what? Did you come here to gloat?" he responded. "Kick me while I'm down? Because I'm not turnin' my back on Jay, and I ain't giving up."

"I didn't expect you to," Yubel assured. "I never turned my back against Jaden, either." That made no sense, but before Jesse could say anything, they kept talking. "I just thought it would help, having someone else who knows how it feels. You've been left alone for so long, and no one deserves that."

Had he been alone here for…long? Jesse had no idea how much time had passed, he wasn't even sure how time worked here. Trying to figure it out now would be futile. "Maybe," he admitted, "but if you were hoping to get the same from me, I probably won't be much help. Haven't been able to find much supplies."

"This can't be what you wanted, wandering alone in the desert." Yubel smiled. "But even if Jaden's decided he doesn't need you, that doesn't mean you have to be alone. We can survive together."

Jesse bit the inside of his cheek. His gut reaction was to argue that Jaden hadn't abandoned him, but that wouldn't get him anywhere, and he didn't have it in him regardless. He couldn't make any decision here banking on the idea that someone would come look for him and take him home, because he didn't know if that would happen. If he really was destined to be alone in this desert… Well, it couldn't be any more difficult with someone who actually knew their way around the place. Someone who wouldn't get lost so easily as he did.

Yubel was definitely their enemy, he knew that. Eventually, they'd go after Jaden again. Whether they meant to keep using Jesse as bait or not was hard to say, but Yubel wouldn't offer their help to him if it didn't benefit that goal in some way. If he actually accepted this, there was no way it wouldn't backfire on him somehow. But maybe there'd be some way to turn this around to his benefit, too. Maybe he could use this to get Yubel to back down, or at least figure out why the heck they were targeting Jaden in the first place. If he had some answers, maybe he could help them. Not in a way that would hurt Jaden, of course, but in a way that would be good for everyone.

Any other time, he might not even consider this offer. But as it was, he was hungry and thirsty and tired, and those factors had a way of impairing the decision-making process. Made it hard to think. How long would he even be able to survive alone here anyway? Another point in favor of saying yes.

Besides, what was the saying? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?

The doubts creeping through his mind were urging him to accept.

Jesse shoved his hands into his pockets. "Don't think this means I'm in favor of all this stuff you've been doing. Hurting folks and attacking my friends. I'm not going along with it. But…I ain't got much left to lose, so, fine. You actually want my company? If anyone does come looking for me, I don't want them to find me like this. Sure. I'll take it."

Yubel faltered for a moment. There was no way they accepted him to accept so easily. But it was pretty clear they were pleased with this.

There was no way this would go well.


	2. Ghost Story | Dreams/Nightmares | Dissociation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slifer can't stay open without a headmaster...can it?
> 
> Jaden pulls an all-nighter.
> 
> Chazz skips out on dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Combining three days into one chapter for this one! I'm busy but thankfully keeping ahead and writing less for each day, and everything's starting to slowly come together... Since I'm combining chapters, there's gonna be some reformatting on this one compared to tumblr since each prompt in this group takes place in very different periods of time. On tumblr it's definitely not super obvious what takes place when, oops! Here we'll try to make it so. Putting this together a day early so that tomorrow putting it up will be really quick. Hope y'all enjoy!

> _**Year Three, Second Half -- Chancellor's Office** _

"So, wait. Hold on. Run that by me again?" Jaden asked.

Chancellor Sheppard sighed. "Right now, you're the only student in Slifer. Everyone else has been promoted. And you've more than earned being promoted as well. Of course, if you wanted to stay in Slifer, that would be fine…"

"But we don't have any teachers in charge of Slifer!" Dr. Crowler finished. He slammed Sheppard's desk with his hands. "And we don't have the staff to spare. Especially not after the last few…incidents. It's getting harder to get teachers to stay."

Jaden sucked a breath in through his teeth. "But, no one's been in charge of Slifer for a year and a half, right? Shouldn't this have been a problem before now?"

"Duel Academy's been through a lot the past few years," Chancellor Sheppard admitted. "We've been looking into it and trying to find someone, believe me, but we've been playing too much damage control."

"Well, it's not that big a deal anyway." Jaden shrugged. "Slifer still has a headmaster anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Chancellor Sheppard asked.

Silently, Jaden bent down. When he stood back up, Pharaoh was nestled safely and comfortably in his arms. The cat let out a yawn as he stared up at the ceiling of the chancellor's office.

"You can't honestly…" Dr. Crowler groaned. "That flea-ridden creature is not a teacher at Duel Academy, and certainly not the headmaster of the Slifer dorms."

"Unless you're recommending him for the position, and I don't think he's qualified," Chancellor Sheppard added.

"Of course he's not qualified! He's a cat!" Dr. Crowler protested.

Jaden laughed. "Of course I'm not saying Pharaoh's not in charge at Slifer. But, see, Banner's ghost has been sticking around. Banner's still here." He reached under Pharaoh's head to scratch under his chin. Pharaoh purred. "So, through Pharaoh, Banner can still be the head honcho. At least until I graduate, anyway. After that, you can probably close Slifer down until you find someone new if you want, but I'm staying put."

"So Banner's been haunting the Slifer dorms this whole time?" Chancellor Sheppard blinked. He looked desperately at Dr. Crowler. "Are we supposed to believe this… this ghost story?"

"Normally, I wouldn't, and even now I'm struggling to consider it," Dr. Crowler replied. "But after the past few years… I'm inclined to believe anything, especially if this slacker's saying it."

"I'll tell you what. Pharaoh can attend all the meetings and everything you need him to be at," Jaden offered. "And Banner can tell me everything the students need to be informed about. And I'll act on that. But if it becomes clear I'm not informed about something I should be, I'll accept a promotion to Yellow or Blue, wherever you want me, without fighting you on it. That way you don't have to take my word on it. I know the ghost thing seems a bit far-fetched."

"That logic seems sound to me, Chancellor," Dr. Crowler admitted. "And even then, like I said. When it comes to ghosts and spirits and whatnot, I'm inclined to believe Jaden on it."

"Alright, then, I guess that's settled," Chancellor Sheppard decided. "We'll be keeping an eye on you of course, and if we have any concerns that the arrangement isn't working out, you'll hear from us and we'll meet again. But for now, you're free to stay in Slifer, provided Pharaoh does his part."

"Sweet!" Jaden shot them a grin. Pharaoh jumped out of his arms as he gave his salute to them both. "Thanks Chancellor, thanks Doc! You won't be disappointed!" he called out as he left the office.

"I don't like the idea of having that cat back at all our staff meetings," Dr. Crowler mumbled as he watched Jaden go. "Still, I suppose that's the best we're going to get from that boy."

* * *

> _**Year One -- Slifer Dorms** _

When Jaden awoke, his heart beat rapidly with adrenaline and fear.

But…he wasn’t sure why.

See, here was the thing. He used to get these nightmares when he was younger. Bad ones, apparently, that were really messing with all sorts of aspects of his life. He didn’t really remember much about that time other than it happened, the whole thing was a blank now. He’d tried asking his parents before, but they danced around the subject and obviously didn’t want to talk about it. So as far as he knew, his parents had taken to see him to a doctor about the nightmares. And then the nightmares stopped.

Or, they had at the time. Now was a different story.

Since starting at Duel Academy, Jaden’s dreams weren’t the nicest. But the thing was, once he woke up he couldn’t remember what it was about. But he kept waking up feeling afraid and sweaty and more exhausted when he’d fallen asleep. But, more awake, too. When the dreams woke him up, he just couldn’t bring himself to fall asleep again. Apparently whatever he was dreaming about was that bad. More than once he’d woken up to find he’d been crying in his sleep.

He had no idea if these were the same nightmares he’d had before, but it was messing with his sleep schedule pretty badly.

Looked like tonight was another one of those nights. Time to say goodbye to a good night’s sleep.

Knowing that resting was a pointless effort by now, Jaden pulled himself out of bed. There wasn’t much he could do at this time of night. Morning? Whatever. Nothing was going on on the island, and he didn’t want to wake up Syrus and Chumley.

All he could really do was go through his cards. Maybe there was a new strategy he could work in, or some way to adjust his deck so he could duel even better. Winged Kuriboh settled into his lap, either to give a second opinion. Which was usually positive, but hey, that’s Winged Kuriboh for you.

By the time Chumley and Syrus rolled out of bed, Jaden was fighting off a yawn. His eyes stung, and there was a sharp pain in his head. Good thing he’d given up staying awake in class a long time ago.

“Whoa, Jay, did you stay up all night again?” Syrus asked after putting on his glasses. He looked over Jaden. Whatever Syrus saw, it made him frown. “I know you wanna keep working on your deck, Jay, but this might not be the best way to go about it. You look exhausted.”

“Yeah, if you sleep in class again, Dr. Crowler might give you detention,” Chumley added. “And detention’s totally not licious.”

“I’m fine, guys, honest,” Jaden assured them with a yawn. “Just let me get changed and I’ll be good to go.”

“Yeah, good to go to sleep, maybe,” Syrus said. “You’re turning into some kind of nocturnal animal. It can’t be good for you.”

“I know, I know,” Jaden muttered. “I’ll try to stop staying up so much.”

Well, at least he could look forward to sleeping in class, detention or not. Now he was too tired to dream about anything.

* * *

> _**Year Two -- Slifer Dorms** _

Chazz stared up at the ceiling, resting his head on the mattress he was sprawled out on.

How long had it been since…when did this Society of Light thing even start, anyway? Right after the slacker tried to leave? How long had it even been since then? He wasn’t sure. He couldn’t be.

His time in the Society of Light was a blank, a blur. Went by in a flash, if you will. No, wait, too soon to start making jokes about it, his brain didn’t like that one. He only had bits and pieces in his memory, playing out in his mind like a montage in a movie. Converting duelist after duelist into members of the organization. Enough to get a general idea of how much damage he’d caused almost single-handedly.

And, sure, he could make all these excuses about how Sartorius tricked him when he was converted himself, how it couldn’t be his fault. But Chazz didn’t have it in himself to lie to himself right now. He was stupid and let his feelings get the better of him. He fell for that trap hook line and sinker, and if he’d actually been smart about it he would’ve done better, not get taken over like that.

Slifer Red was being promised tons of fried shrimp for everyone that night, but Chazz wasn’t sure how to handle being around all those Society of Light victims. Everyone attending Duel Academy right then was a victim of the Society of Light in some way or another. Besides, Chazz was pretty sure he forgot how to move his legs and arms. He did have those, right? You need those to walk and eat fried shrimp. More reason to stay where he was.

The Chazz didn’t want to wallow in his guilt publicly anyway. If he had his way, no one was going to think any of that was bothering him, and the Chazz always got his way.

Somewhere in the middle of that thought, the door to his room opened without any warning. Jaden poked his head in.

“Oh, you are here, Chazz, sweet!” Jaden said, more to himself than anything.

“You know, slacker, most people knock before entering someone else’s room,” Chazz told him. He rolled his eyes. That was Jaden for you, he shouldn’t be expecting any better.

“Well, I didn’t see you at dinner so I saved you some fried shrimp. Brought it up here for you,” Jaden replied. He elbowed the door open further. Sure enough, his hands were full, holding a plate piled with fried shrimp.

“Thanks.” Fried shrimp was definitely the best food Slifer had to offer. “But I’m not really hungry.”

“Not hungry? Aw, no way Chazz, it’s fried shrimp! You gotta want some.” Jaden frowned. “Is everything okay? I haven’t seen you in awhile, actually, have you just…been here?”

“What do you think?!” Chazz demanded.

“I’m sure not being able to see my cards for a couple of days because of the Society of Light and having to fight against them isn’t nearly as bad as being brainwashed by them, so I’m not gonna say I understand, because I probably don’t,” Jaden replied. “But I know it can’t be easy. If you wanna talk, I’m here for you. And it’s not just me. Alexis, Syrus…”

Chazz sighed. “Thanks, I guess, but the Chazz can handle himself,” he muttered.

“If you say so.” Jaden didn’t look entirely convinced. But he carefully put the plate of shrimp down somewhere he must’ve deemed appropriate and made his way back out the door. “The offer still stands. Catch you later, Chazz. Good luck!”

Chazz huffed once Jaden was gone, blowing a few strands of his hair off his face.

Back to square one, then.

 


	3. Experiment | Pumpkin | Paranoia | Voices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaden buys some sandwiches.
> 
> Syrus gets into a duel.
> 
> Jaden makes a choice.
> 
> Chumley thinks about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Accidentally did two of these in the wrong order, so it's four this time instead of three. Should be less busy now, so these should be easier to get out, and they might be a bit longer. Or maybe not, we'll see. Hope you all enjoy!

>   **Year One -- Main Gate**

"Hey, Chumley, how much store credit do you have through duels?" Jaden asked.

“Uh, I think I have some, why?” Chumley replied.

“See, Syrus and I have this bet going. Syrus doesn’t think I can stuff more than five sandwiches in my mouth at once, but I think I can do more. The winner owes the loser the cook’s sandwich next time they draw one,” Jaden explained. “I think I have enough duel credits on my own, but if not we might need your help.”

Chumley pulled out his PDA and checked a setting. “Yeah, I think I can do that.” He put it back in his pocket. “But are you sure this is a good idea? You could choke or something, and that’s definitely not licious.”

“It’ll be fine!” Syrus said. “I won’t let him go overboard. Though, maybe it’d be good if you were there to make sure, too. He’ll be more likely to listen to you, since you don’t have any stakes in it.”

“Yeah, sure, I already finished the assignment earlier so I can do that,” Chumley agreed.

“Wait, we have homework?” Jaden asked.

* * *

 Jaden, Chumley, and Syrus were sitting on the ground outside the main gate, a pile of sandwiches next to Jaden. Jaden held his mouth open as he shoved another sandwich. After a few seconds of adjustment, he managed to get it to stay.

“Well, he’s at four. I gotta say, I’m impressed,” Chumley commented.

“Impressed about what?” All three of them looked to see Bastion stopping nearby, giving Jaden a look of concern. “Given how the situation looks, though, I’m not sure I actually want to know.”

Jaden immediately began to try to explain, which only resulted in various unintelligible noises. Bastion frowned.

“It’s nothing really,” Chumley said. ”Jaden and Syrus are just doing an experiment.”

“An experiment on…” Bastion looked around him. “…Jaden eating sandwiches? What’s the hypothesis?”

“Jaden thinks he can fit more than five sandwiches in his mouth at once,” Syrus explained. “But I think five’s his limit.”

“Interesting.” Bastion sat down between Syrus and Chumley. “And four’s where he’s at now, you say? Looks like he should be able to fit about two more.”

“Two? No way, I’m never gonna win this bet,” Syrus whined.

“Well, you never know. My math might actually be off. I’m just going off of looks and estimations, instead of measurements,” Bastion ceded. “Though, did you just pick a bunch of random sandwiches? Jaden could definitely fit more if you only had plain sandwiches.”

Jaden motioned for the commentary to die down as he reached for the fifth.

“Here we go, number five!” Chumley announced. “Can he do it?”

* * *

>   **Year One -- Classroom**

“So, class, I know I’m not usually the teacher who goes over dueling basics with you,” Professor Banner began. “But as Dr. Crowler is out today, I’ll be taking his place for this class. So, today we’ll be going through some practice duels with some practice decks. Pay very close attention to the duels you don’t participate in. Jaden, Syrus, you’ll be first.”

As Jaden and Syrus walked to the front of the class, Professor Banner gave them each a deck to use. The two shuffled their decks and drew their starting hands.

“Yo, uh, Banner, is it just these cards in my hand, or is my entire deck pumpkin-themed?” Jaden asked.

Syrus glanced down at his hand as well. “Hey, me too! Uh, not specifically the pumpkins, but is mine all just vampires?”

“I know you all have your preferred decks and monster types, but it’s good for you to branch out,” Professor Banner explained. “Since zombie decks don’t seem to be very popular at the academy lately, we’ll be practicing with zombie monsters today!”

“Oh, hey, Chumley, maybe you’ll like this one. There’a a card in my hand called Vampire Koala,” Syrus said.

“Totally licious,” Chunley responded. “I can’t wait to see what it does! I might have to try it out.”

“Zombie koalas are pretty cool,” Jaden admitted. “But zombie food is even sweeter!”

“Now, class, pay attention. Syrus, Jaden, for this duel I want you each to play at least one Continuous Spell or Trap,” Professor Banner said. “Syrus will start. Now, begin!”

* * *

>   **Year Four, Second Half -- Slifer Dorms**

Something was on its way to Duel Academy. It was painfully obvious to Jaden.

Probably not to everyone else, though, given his new abilities. So maybe that'd explain why, while he was so on edge, everyone around him remained relaxed. And why shouldn't they be? This was Duel Academy. The worst thing anyone should have to worry about here was essays or upcoming exams. Despite the supernatural phenomena that seemed to occur at Duel Academy almost semiannually, it shouldn't be normal.

Still, the danger was coming, Jaden knew that much. And whatever it was, he knew it wasn't here yet. So there wasn't anything he could do about it yet. Was there?

Duel Academy seemed to attract disaster. There was the whole situation with Atticus and the Abandoned Dorm that happened before Jaden had started attending Duel Academy. Yet, after that… It was Jaden's duel energy that Kagemaru had needed and used. Jaden was supposed to be the first at Duel Academy converted into the Society of Light. Yubel, well, they were always going to come after him, for better or for worse, once they were able to again. So while Duel Academy attracted these sorts of incidents, but Jaden couldn't deny that he seemed to be a magnet for disaster as well.

If Jaden hadn't been here, would Kagemaru have had the duel energy he needed? Would the Shadow Riders have struck when they did? Would the Society of Light have come to Duel Academy? He was needed for both their plans. If Jaden never attended Duel Academy, would these last few incidents have even happened?

What was this new disaster after? Duel Academy, or him?

 _So, what are you going to do, then?_ Yubel asked him. They didn't have the answers to any of his questions either; if they did, he wouldn't be asking any of these questions. They were taking a back seat on this one. Either way, it was Jaden's choice.

What was he going to do now? He wasn't sure.

It was basically a coin toss. Either the threat was after Duel Academy or Jaden, and Jaden could either stay or leave. If Duel Academy was after him and he decided to stay, he was needlessly putting his classmates and teachers in danger, involving them in problems they shouldn't have to deal with. But if he left and the threat was after Duel Academy, then he wouldn't be there to help. His friends could get hurt because of him, yet again. Not that they couldn't take care of themselves. He trusted them, knew they could handle it.

It was risky either way. But before Jaden acted, he needed to weigh the risks of every possibility and figure out what action would be the least risky. That was a lot of thinking, theorizing, and planning he wasn't used to and wasn't looking forward to. That was more Bastion's speed, but asking Bastion about it was out of the question.

If only Sartorius could tell him the future. Then again, that might not even work. When it came to the future, Jaden had had a way of defying destiny.

"Alright, Jay, it's fried shrimp day at Obelisk," Syrus announced as he shoved the door open without knocking. "You're not getting out of it this time!"

Jaden chuckled. "You win this time, Sy. I'll eat dinner with you guys."

Well, he had an idea of what option he was leaning towards already.

* * *

>   **Year One -- Slifer Dorms**

Chumley stared down at his Des Koala card.

Jaden claimed he could see and talk to duel spirits. That Winged Kuriboh appeared to him and talked to him all the time. He’d told Jaden once that sometimes it was like he could hear Des Koala in his duels, cheering him on and giving him advice. Jaden had declared that was proof that Chumley had more than enough potential, that he belonged at Duel Academy and that he should be there. Not to say that was the only proof; Chumley hadn’t wanted to leave, so that was more than enough for Jaden, he didn’t want him to leave either. But, still.

Working at the hot sauce company wasn’t ideal. That was someone else’s dream, not his. Dueling was fun, and Duel Academy was where Chumley wanted to be.

But if Chumley didn’t want to work in the hot sauce business, what did he want to do instead? Dueling, maybe, but he didn’t have nearly enough confidence in his skills to consider going pro right now. Nothing else sounded appealing.

They’d convinced his dad to let him stay at Duel Academy, and Chumley was grateful. But was it really for the best?

He didn’t know.

People like Jaden and Bastion and Alexis had it easy. They were good at what they wanted to do. Those three could go pro easily. Even Syrus had better grades and more skill, he just needed more confidence and control.

Being at Duel Academy was the best, of course Chumley wanted to be here. But was this really where he should be? What should he do? Chumley wasn’t a fortune teller. He couldn’t answer that. He just wished someone would tell him.

“What do you think, Des Koala?” Chumley whispered.

He heard it, just barely. Des Koala was answering his question. It sounded like Des Koala thought he should stay at Duel Academy, that this was where he was meant to be.

“You really think I’m cut out for all this?” Chunley asked.

He didn’t get a response that time. Des Koala was a lot quieter than Winged Kuriboh seemed to be, but he didn’t mind. When it mattered, Des Koala always knew what to do or say.

If Des Koala really thought he had what it took…

* * *

 “So, what do you think of this one?” Chumley asked, sitting back in his seat. A finished painting sat on the easel in front of him; an image for another new card for Industrial Illusions he was helping to make. “This one’s supposed to be a trap card.”

Des Koala gave approval on the design. Chunley smiled. “I thought you’d like it. This one’s supposed to work well with you, I hear.”

When Chumley had been accepted into a position designing cards at Industrial Illusions, part of him had expected it to be a prank, or to get fired almost immediately for doing something wrong. But he was still here, still creating cards, and cards he made were being approved, even sold. He was successful now. A year ago, he never would’ve imagined this. He couldn’t have. It still seemed so impossible.

He still dueled some, but it wasn’t his job. Still, he was working with the game that helped him through such hard times. Working for the game. And it was better than he could have ever hoped.

“Sure, I went to Duel Academy and I can hear you,” he told Des Koala. “But none of that means I had to make dueling my career, you know? I never would’ve made it if I did that. Working with dueling doesn’t have to mean becoming a pro duelist. You can make cards, you can teach, you can report on duels or help other duelists with their careers…”

Chumley didn’t duel much these days, but Duel Academy had been where he belonged. It was where he was supposed to be at the time, even if he wasn’t sure he had it in him to keep up with his classmates. Duel Academy helped him get the job he had now, and he’d met important friends there that had done so much to help him. They’d forged the kinds of friendships distance couldn’t truly destroy.

And all that had been so close to never happening, too. He hated thinking about that part. He’d rather just be grateful that it did happen.

Things were better now, even if he couldn’t see they’d improve before. Life could be pretty licious sometimes.


	4. Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another nightmare...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've, uh, realized that I missed a prompt, skipped it by accident? And I'd already written for the next four days before I figured it out, which makes this very confusing for anyone trying to follow along, because that's a tricky one to resolve. This really shouldn't be long enough to warrant its own chapter, but I wanted to keep things in order here, so not only does it get its own chapter, it's not... the latest chapter, though it is the most recent? Sorry about that. If you've found your way here, this prompt takes place during season four (following the format I've been using here, it's: Year Four, Second Half -- Slifer Dorms). I'm updating this and posting this here now, but if you're following along on tumblr, the next few days will come out a day early each before this one is posted on tumblr on the 14th, then everything goes back to normal, since I'd already queued the next three prompts that way and it was just...tricky. Sorry.
> 
> The next prompt, Festival, was purposefully skipped over, with no plans to go back to it, for multiple reasons, many personal. Thus, the next chapter here is for the prompt after, Aftermath. In Festival's place, Return from the Different Dimension was updated, so if you're interested in a, uh, prompt for that day, I made sure I updated something. Days 12-14 (Forgotten, Blasphemy, Holy/Sacred) will be posted on the 14th; I have tentative plans for Friday and definite plans for Saturday, so those are prepared for ahead of time. That chapter will actually be placed at the end of the story, unlike this one, so they won't be so strange to track down. I hope you enjoy!

Jaden was alone. No one else was there. Yet, he could feel the stares of several eyes piercing through the darkness around him, every single one focused on him.

He was alone.

All his friends had been struck down by the approaching darkness. They were defeated, gone. He hadn't been good enough to save them, and they were gone. Now Jaden was alone and the darkness was making him its next target.

He activated his duel disk. He was only going to have one shot at this. He had to win, or no one was going to be able to help his friends _or_ him…

Jaden awoke with a gasp.

He was…he was in bed? How had he been able to sleep at a time like this? There was no time for that! He had to go and defeat whatever was out there, or no one would be able to bring his friends back.

When he practically jumped out of bed into a standing position, Jaden winced. He hadn't noticed the pounding headache threatening to engulf his thoughts until he'd moved.

_Calm down, it was just a dream, it's okay, Jaden._ He also hadn't realize Yubel was trying to talk to him and bring him back to reality. Hearing those words, however, Jaden forced himself to take a deep breath. Now that his mind was clearing, he remembered that it _had_ been a dream. Nothing was happening. Everyone was safe. They were okay.

_Thank goodness_ , Yubel told him. _I wasn't sure how long it would take to get you out of it. You scared off Pharaoh, you know._

Jaden winced again. There'd been an anger lingering beneath the surface of his panic when he'd woke. Anger at himself for letting his friends down in that dream, that his friends had been gone and there'd been almost nothing he could do. While he'd stopped panicking, he still couldn't force himself quite out of that anger. He really need to work on that.

Yikes, and if that's how he was feeling, his eyes were probably glowing gold with the power of the Supreme King, too. There was no way he could go out like this. He would just scare his friends with memories of Dark World, and confuse everyone else. Looks like he was skipping class again today.


	5. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaden waits around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is long enough that I'm down with putting it in its own chapter. This is day 10: Aftermath, for those of you keeping up. Prompt list can still be found on chapter one. This one's post-series! 
> 
> Day 11: Festival is gonna be replaced with an update to Return from the Different Dimension. A, uh, unplanned and sudden update. I mean. The update is still gonna be the chapter I've been planning to be the next chapter for a week or two now. But, uh, it wasn't the next thing I was planning on updating is all. meant to go back to ncih but i need this instead rn, i'm kind of....emotionally shot. living from distraction to distraction rn. i'll be fine, just...need another day or two. i literally only made myself sleep because i have class.
> 
> ygotober prompts are planned to continue with day 11: forgotten. thanks for reading!

Jaden looked down at his phone.

He was able to keep up with his friends loves a bit through the group chat they all shared. He talked in it rarely and didn’t look in often, but it was often enough that he knew what they were all up to, that they were safe and happy. Well, for the most part. They all still had a lot to recover from, but even barring that, there were some exceptions. Alexis was teaching now. Syrus and Zane were pro duelists. Chumley still had his job at Industrial Illusions. Zane was recovering better every day. Axel and Jim were back to their usual lives.

He was happy knowing that. It was enough. He didn’t need to be around them for him to be happy with it; he was on the road a lot with his own life, and the last thing his friends needed was his danger-attracting presence turning things upside-down again. But, well, there were still exceptions. One in particular. It worried him, or at the very least, he was curious.

Jaden shifted his position, sitting on a grassy hill. He looked at his phone again. Took note of the time. Late. Where was he, was everything okay? He probably just got lost, but…

Someone plopped down on the ground next to him.

“Shift ran a few minutes late, sorry,” Jesse apologized. He held back a yawn. “Didn’t get lost this time, though.”

“That’s good.” Nothing had happened then. Shouldn’t have expected it to, but… “So, what’s up? You work at a card shop now?” Jaden asked.

Jaden and Jesse hadn’t really spoken since Jesse had gotten his current job. It really had been awhile, hadn’t it? Too long, perhaps. Jesse was one of the people Jaden worried most about these days.

“That’s right,” Jesse confirmed. “It’s a small place, just three of us including my boss.” This time, Jesse couldn’t stop the yawn, though he tried to be as discreet as possible. “I’ve been working a lot of the later shifts lately, guess I’m more tired than I thought. Sorry about that.”

“Hey, it’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Jaden told him. “I’m just still hung up on the fact that you’re working at the shop at all, really. Didn’t think that was your goal when we were in Duel Academy.”

“It wasn’t,” Jesse said quietly. “I mean, I like my job, but this definitely wasn’t my dream. Not sure I have one anymore, though.”

“So, no plans to go pro then, huh?”

“Not exactly.” Jesse moved to sit closer to Jaden. “I mean, I still love duelin’. It helped me meet all the most important people in my life. And I still want to help people who can see duel spirits, too. Help them see they’re not alone, or not going crazy. But that last year of school was…pretty intense. I just don’t have it in me to duel these days. I need a break, I guess, is all.”

With a mumble of “I’m tired and you’re a good pillow,” Jesse leaned forward so his forehead was resting against Jaden’s shoulder.

Jaden sighed. “It was, wasn’t it? And that’s my fault, isn’t it? Sorry.”

“Don’t you go blaming yourself for things you couldn’t control,” Jesse told him, the command muffled by Jaden’s jacket. “Nightshroud wasn’t your fault. You did your best. Everything with Yubel…er, you… Y’all ain’t to blame for what the Light of Destruction made y’all do. Everything’s fine now. I just need time.”

Jaden bit his lip. Jesse, and all his friends, continued insisting that, and while he couldn’t agree, he couldn’t argue them on it, either. But, “It’s more than that. It’s… Yubel was my problem to take care of, you know? And I shouldn’t have had to drag you into the problem with Nightshroud. You kept picking up my slack, fixing what I wasn’t good enough to handle. You were so much better than I was, you still are. If I’d just been better, stronger, you and everyone else would’ve been safer. You wouldn’t have gotten possessed, or dragged into Nightshroud’s world. I should’ve done better. I’m sorry.”

At that, Jesse laughed. With a snort, he quickly apologized. “I’m sorry. It’s just… I feel the same way about you.”

“You do?” Jaden blinked.

“I kept getting into situations I couldn’t handle, and you always came to bail me out,” Jesse explained. “You kept winning where I kept losing. If I’d put up a better defense against Yubel, maybe you wouldn’t have had to save me at all. If I hadn’t lost that duel against Nightshroud, I could’ve stuck around to the end and helped more. I’m constantly comparing myself to you, and you always come out on top. I never would’ve dreamed you thought I was better than you.”

“Wow, I had no idea,” Jaden muttered. “Maybe we’re both right. Or maybe we’re both wrong. Instead of thinking we’re better than each other, maybe we should just be equal.”

“Maybe we should,” Jesse agreed.

They sat in silence for awhile. Before too long, Jaden realized that Jesse had started taking a nap, still leaning against his arm.

He smiled. Everything would be fine after all.


	6. Forgotten | Blasphemy | Holy/Sacred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bastion heads out for a training session in the morning.
> 
> Jaden runs into a problem he can't put off any longer.
> 
> Chazz receives a message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized, finishing the 14th prompt "Holy/Sacred", that I missed the day 9 prompt completely. So, uh, now we're out of order, and have been for awhile I suppose! I'll probably rectify that here by, after finishing the prompt for day 9, adding a chapter for just that one prompt itself and putting it before the chapter for "Aftermath". So, if you see a new chapter update but this is still the last chapter and you've already read it, go look for a chapter named "Eyes" before "Aftermath"! In all likelihood, this chapter will be posted after I've written the prompt and posted it, so I'll put a note at the 'end' of the story as well. On tumblr this will resolve differently; days 12, 13, and 14 will post a day early each, and then 9 will be posted when day 14 will be, and we'll go back on schedule from there.
> 
> edit 10/14/18: do you ever forget to update the chapter publication date before posting a draft because i do constantly
> 
> I have other things to write (including this paper on animal crossing...) and scheduled myself some commitments this weekend; if I don't practice driving tomorrow (Friday) then there's a game night a club's hosting I will probably go to (I've been lured with Mario Kart and pizza...the actual dining hall dinner isn't great), and Saturday, I've committed to attending a six hour hackathon being hosted here for awhile now. So I'm trying to be ahead again (I was on schedule for a day or so instead, which is suboptimal). So, uh, considering the actual dates this should probably be posted Sunday, when these events are over. But I'm trying to go fast! Get these done! I hope you're all enjoying these prompts!
> 
> "Holy/Sacred" is much more canon divergent than other prompts have been so far, so, uh, you've been warned. And you can consider it a sequel to the prompt for "Paranoia", or not! Up to you.

>    **Year One -- Cliffs**

Every morning before class, before he ate breakfast, Bastion left the Ra Yellow dorms and trained out by the cliff.

The scenery was absolutely beautiful. Water surrounded the cliff, calmly reflecting the sunrise on its surface. Somedays, clouds obscured parts of the sky, but today it was clear. Calm, yet it had purpose. Exactly how Bastion himself should be when he dueled. Training in such an area didn't just give him the quiet and solitude he needed, it was inspirational, too. Nature was beautiful, and surrounding himself with it helped him come up with some of his best strategies.

Yet even nature itself wasn't good enough to beat Jaden Yuki.

Nothing Bastion had tried so far worked. His efforts were focused almost solely on defeating Jaden now, and it still wasn't enough to beat Jaden.  He's thrown every card into the equation, thought through every simulation, calculated every formula, and it still wasn't enough. And until he could figure out a way to beat Jaden, he could never consider himself the best duelist in their year.

Was being the best duelist the most important goal for Bastion to set his sights on? For him, it really wasn't just a matter of status. It was about the skill, planning, and calculating involved. Defeating Jaden was more of a puzzle for him to solve than a status to strive for. Still, the fact that he couldn't beat Jaden meant Bastion had room to improve, too. He could still do better, be better. And until Bastion could reach that point and be satisfied with his efforts and abilities, he would still continue to work and train and think harder.

Still, being able to say that he could beat Jaden in a duel would be very satisfying.

Jaden was the best duelist in their year, and was an unforgettable person. Jaden wasn't one to run calculations or strategize. Rather, he believed in his cards and knew how to best utilize them, always finding a way through any situation. He was very upbeat and could become friends with almost anyone if he set his mind to it. And he was competitive, but never let the competition truly turn him against his opponent. It was definitely more than just his skill that made him unforgettable; it was hard to forget someone like Jaden. But his skills and talents still definitely contributed to that, too.

And perhaps, if Bastion was the best duelist in their class, he'd be more noticeable and rememberable as well.

Bastion was a person of science, only believing in truth backed by hard evidence. Yet, he was nearly convinced by this point that he was cursed by some power that made him practically invisible. More and more, it seemed his presence went unnoticed. Teachers would completely miss him during attendance and think he was absent. His friends would not even realize he was there and around. Something about him was just…hard to notice, he supposed. He tried not to let it get to him. He still had good friends here at Duel Academy, and he was grateful. He knew his friends cared about him and tried their best to include him. But the whole thing was still a bit disheartening, when no one ever seemed to see him.

Worse than that, was an unspoken fear he tried not to think on too much. But if Bastion was apparently invisible to the rest of the world most of the time, how hard would it be for everyone around him to forget about him completely?

Not too hard, he hoped, but he wouldn't know for sure until it happened. And he feared it would. What would it take to become forgotten? Would it happen naturally, whether he was at class and with his friends or not? Would it just take the brief separation of a school break? Would his accumulating losses against Jaden pull him down the ranks into obscurity?

He didn't want to think about it. Bastion would rather think about his training, or the upcoming class, or… Well, look at the time. He should get breakfast soon if he wanted to eat at all this morning. There was also an email on his PDA from Jaden, another invitation to duel if he felt ready, but no pressure if he needed more time to prepare.

Bastion was still remembered today. He hadn't been forgotten yet.

* * *

>    **Time Unknown -- Location Unknown**

Jaden stared down at his Slifer jacket, hanging by the sleeves from his hands. He really should’ve been more careful, it was caked in mud now.

There was no avoiding this, he’d have to clean it. It was his only Slifer jacket, though, and he had to wear a jacket. It was too cold to go without, for one thing. The only other jacket he had, he hadn’t worn since he started at Duel Academy. It was completely black, and maybe the sleeves would be a bit short by now, but surely it’d work, right? It couldn’t be that bad.

The only problem was he usually wore a black shirt under his jacket, and a black shirt and a black jacket was too much for his liking. He still had a red shirt around here somewhere, he’d probably worn it the last time he wore the black jacket. That should work.

* * *

“Whoa, Jaden, I barely recognized you,” Alexis said as she looked over him.

“What do you mean?” Jaden asked as he sat down next to her. Pharaoh, from seemingly nowhere, sprinted over to jump onto Jaden’s lap. Jaden patiently told him now wasn’t the time as he tried to get Pharaoh onto the ground.

“Your clothes. I’m used to seeing you in the Slifer outfit,” Alexis explained. “So the black jacket and the red shirt just…feels wrong, now.”

“Besides, that look belongs to The Chazz,” Chazz added as he leaned over to glare at Jaden. “You can’t steal my look.”

“This is what I wore before we started at Duel Academy, so if anything, it’s my look, not yours,” Jaden explained. “And I can’t help it. My jacket needs to be cleaned, I can’t wear it.”

“It’s just…like, against nature for you to wear a jacket that’s not red,” Chazz told him.

“I feel like it’s actually against the law,” Alexis weighed in.

“Blasphemous, even,” Chazz finished.

Jaden shrugged. “Well, if it is, I must’ve slept during the class that taught us about that. They can’t arrest me if I don’t know, right?”

“Maybe, but karma will catch up to you,” Chazz warned.

“If not karma, at least the natural aging process.” Alexis pointed over at one of Jaden’s sleeves. “There’s some threads coming lose, and the start of a tear along that seam. Looks like the sleeves might get too short in a year or two as well. You’ve definitely had this for awhile, you might need to replace it.”

Jaden groaned. “I don’t want to pay for a new one, though, this is the only spare jacket I have…”

“Well, when you get a new one, make it’s red, because it really does look like we were trying to match outfits,” Chazz told him.

Jaden grinned. “Just for that, I’ll make sure it’s another black one. I’ll try to get one that looks more like yours.”

“You’re the worst, slacker.”

* * *

>    **Year Four, Second Half -- Obelisk Blue Boys Dorm**

_Chazz,_

_It'd be pretty sweet if you read this letter before looking at the card with it, but that's probably not how it went down. So you're probably angry. Before you rip up this letter or throw away the card, please let me explain._

"Yeah, you're right about that one," Chazz mumbled as he looked over the letter in his hands. The card it came with was on the floor in front of him. Yeah, he'd looked at the card Jaden gave him, and yeah, he was angry. Jaden had about five seconds to explain himself before he got a lot angrier. But he read on, because he wanted at least some explanation for this, and Jaden better pull through on that promise.

 _Yubel's not evil_ , the letter went on. _I know what you're thinking, and I know everything that happened. Trust me, I was there too, I remember. I don't have the time or space here to explain the whole reason why, but Yubel was being influenced by the Light of Destruction, and that influence is gone. They're chill now. And if you want the whole story, you can ask them yourself. I mean, you can talk to duel spirits and I left you their card, so it doesn't get easier to that. And they'll explain if you ask, no problem. They told me they would, that you deserve that much if you want it. And, they said they're sorry about what happened to you. Just trust me on this. Yubel's not going to hurt anyone anymore._

Chazz looked down at the floor, where Yubel's card was sitting, where it landed when he'd thrown it away from himself in anger. He was willing to trust Jaden on most things, much as he hated to admit it. But this? This seemed a bit much. After everything Yubel pulled, after everything _Jaden_ pulled last year, and everything's supposed to be fine now? Well, whatever, Jaden said that Yubel would explain if he asked. Maybe he would after he finished reading this letter. Or he could wait until after dinner. Give it some thought, and actually think about it more than just this initial reaction. If he still didn't want to put Yubel through a paper shredder by then, he'd at least still want to know the details.

_Please give Yubel a chance. If you were still willing to give me a chance and be my friend after I came back, then please give Yubel the same chance. I left Yubel for you so Yubel can help you, not to make things worse. I don't know if anyone else has noticed it yet, you and the others probably haven't, but something bad's coming. I'm not exactly sure when or why. But it felt like it was coming towards Duel Academy, and I can't just do nothing about it until it gets here._

_All the stuff that's happened so far, it's happened because of me, or I was central to someone's plan. It doesn't feel like this'll be much different. I don't want to put you all in danger again, I don't want any of you to get hurt again for my sake. So if I can take the danger away from Duel Academy, you'll all be okay. If I leave Duel Academy, you'll be safe. So that's what I intend to do._

"You're leaving?" Chazz whispered. He gripped the letter tighter. He…wasn't expecting that. Yeah, Jaden had been more distant ever since he came back from…wherever he was. Sure, he stuck to himself more, refused to leave Slifer, barely attended class, and conveniently made himself scarce whenever anyone wanted to find him. But Jaden belonged there, Jaden being at Duel Academy was just an undisputable fact. He couldn't just leave. Where would he go without Duel Academy? What would the school do without Jaden?

And apparently some kind of threat was coming? He wasn't even giving Chazz or any of his other friends the option of helping out. That hurt just as much as Jaden leaving itself. That slacker should know by now that his friends always had his back. They weren't going to just leave him to struggle alone. After everything they'd been through forever, they deserved the choice. And they would always choose to help. That never changed, and it never would.

That had to be why that choice wasn't even being offered to them. Jaden was putting everyone else over him, which was why he was suddenly trying to work alone. What an idiot.

_I'm leaving Duel Academy. But I still don't know for sure what this thing is after. It could be after Duel Academy, not me. So, in case it is, I still wanted to warn you so you were ready. I know you guys will be able to handle it if you have to. But I can't just leave you with nothing if that's the case. So Yubel's staying behind, with you, to help you guys out. And if this thing shows up at Duel Academy, I'll come back._

_Either way, I won't make you hang on to Yubel forever. And, I'm gonna want Yubel back anyway. They're important to me, too important for me to let go of again. So I'll be back no matter what to take them off your hands. We'll see each other again, Chazz. It's not goodbye for good._

"It better not be," Chazz muttered.

Somehow, reading the rest of the letter had managed to make him only angrier. This slacker was just too much. He was just leaving them like this!? When he wasn't even sure if it would work the way he wanted!? And it wasn't like he needed to anway; Chazz would much rather get caught up in this mess than be left behind. Whatever it was that was coming after them, he was going to give it a piece of his mind.

He picked up Yubel's card and glared at it.

"Yubel, if you're here, you better start talking now," he told them. "Otherwise I'm going to throw you in a paper shredder and I'm going to go after that idiot and punch him in the face for this."


	7. Flaming | Frozen | Prisoner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A challenge to a duel is made and accepted.
> 
> Syrus draws a card he'd rather not see.
> 
> Jaden finds a card that makes him feel the same way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back on track! kinda! boy howdy i'm tired and i need to focus on writing other things than this. so, uh,hopefully this buffer will give me the time and focus i need to get to those.
> 
> this one's a bit of an experience! i've been writing + posting in groups of three a lot here, so i wanted to combine three of the prompts into one overarching, coherent story, but hopefully in a way where they kinda stand apart on their own, too? a little? it was fun and interesting! definitely liked it! not sure i'll do it again for this. hope you enjoy, though!
> 
> this is my formal complaint to tv tokyo about how season 3 was great, love season 3, but some aspects of it are not great and this is a take on one of those aspects and how it could be, like, better? yeah. most of this is season 3 but it transitions into season 3 later and it should be noticeable when that transition is? i'm hoping.

Duels never failed to get Jaden fired up.

Especially when it was someone else asking him to duel, and especially when he was dueling one of his pals, duels were full of surprises and excitement. So when it was Syrus asking Jaden to duel him, it didn’t get much cooler than that.

“…As long as you don’t mind,” Syrus had quickly backpedaled. “I want to see how my deck’s doing, and if I’ve gotten any better. If you can’t, or you don’t want to, I totally understand…”

“Of course I’ll duel you, Sy!” Jaden had laughed. “But I’m warning you, I’m not holding back.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” Syrus had responded. “You better give it your all!”

So Jaden was really, really fired up over this duel. Syrus had a lot of talent and potential, and he trusted his cards, he just needed confidence. With that, Syrus could really give Jaden a run for his money. A run for his cards? Something like that.

Syrus gave him the first move, anyway. Jaden couldn’t wait to see where Syrus took this duel.

As for himself, Jaden started out on the offensive. Not that he could attack on his first turn, but with Burstinatrix on the field he was prepared for it on his next turn. Plus, for a good measure, a Hero Barrier to keep her on the field. With Avian in his hand, if he had a good draw next turn…

Meanwhile, Syrus went for defense with his Vehicroids.

“You’re not gonna play defense the whole time, are you?” Jaden taunted.

“I’ll strike when the time’s right,” Syrus returned.

Jaden’s next draw wasn’t quite what he was hoping for, but Sparkman wasn’t bad. Sparkman could help deal some damage and cover for Burstinatrix, at least. Put some pressure on. He didn’t want to wait too long to see what Syrus was up to.

Syrus’ next turn gave him what he needed to start striking back: a Vehicroid whose ability let it overpower both of Jaden’s heroes. Jaden, however, still had his barrier ready, keeping him safe for the rest of the turn.

This draw was crucial. If Jaden got what he needed, he was still in this, but if not, he’d have to switch to defending. He drew.

It was here.

Polymerization went into effect, and Jaden was able to bring out Flame Wingman.

At the sane time, Syrus made a move of his own, sending Sparkman to the graveyard.

Flame Wingman took care of the lone Vehicroid on Syrus’ field, but it wasn’t enough to end the duel. Which meant there was time for Syrus to make a comeback. Jaden grinned once his turn was over. He knew Syrus had more in him, and he was hoping to see it. He didn’t want this duel to end just yet, this was way too much fun. He was practically burning with excitement.

* * *

Syrus’ luck in duels had a way of freezing him in his tracks.

This duel was no exception. The card in his hand, the card he just drew, was the last thing he wanted to see. It always stopped him like this. He might as well be frozen in a block of ice, with all the good he could do in this duel now. He felt like it, too. He felt cold to the core, and after a few seconds he had to remind himself to breathe.

Power Bond. It was always Power Bond. Why did it always have to be Power Bond? Why did he keep putting it in his deck? Why did his luck keep making him draw it? Most of his duels were so short that statistically, he shouldn’t be seeing it nearly as often as he did. Though, maybe he’d put up a better fight if he didn’t see this card every time.

The card was off limits. Zane made that clear, and Syrus still wasn’t ready to use it yet. He might not ever be ready at this rate.

“Yo, Sy? Earth to Sy?” Jaden called out. Syrus blinked. Jaden had been trying to get his attention for at least ten seconds now, he’d just realized. “You okay, buddy?”

Syrus looked over his hand. Nothing was going to turn this situation around, Jaden was going to win in the next turn anyway. Silently, he pushed a button on his duel disk. After a second, it deactivated. He surrendered.

“Whoa, Syrus, talk to me here, something’s wrong.” Jaden ran across what was formerly the duel field to reach him. “What happened?”

“I drew Power Bond,” Syrus told him.

Jaden frowned.

“I don’t know why I have it in my deck, when I still can’t use it, I guess it’s just… Zane gave me the card, you know?” Syrus asked. “And we barely talk now, so it’s like… it reminds me of the good times. But Zane’s the one who said I can’t use it, too. So it hurts.”

“Right. It reminds you of that, too. And ever since, you’ve had confidence issues, right?” Jaden replied. “And you’re definitely a lot more confident than you used to be, but whenever you see the card and it reminds you of that, it can’t be helpful.”

“Yeah.” Syrus nodded. “But I don’t think I could bring myself to take it out of my deck, either. I wish I could just… keep it there without feeling so bad.”

Jaden looked out towards the water surrounding the island. “…Before I came here, I didn’t have a lot of friends.”

Syrus blinked at that. “Really? That just seems…wrong. Like, you shouldn’t be the type of person to be without friends.” Jaden had been making friends at Duel Academy so easily, even during the entrance exam. He’d gravitated attention pretty quickly and made friends in such unexpected places. Even Chazz, despite what he might say, tolerated Jaden better than he did most people. It didn’t feel right for Jaden to be alone.

But, Jaden nodded. “Not always,” he clarified. I remember having some friends way back, when I was really little. But everyone started pulling away at some point. I think it was around when I learned to duel. No one wanted to play with me anymore. I don’t even remember why. And I guess because of the timing, I always figured it must’ve been because of dueling, so I almost didn’t even try to come here. If dueling pushed people away from me… I guess I almost decided it wouldn’t be worth if to come here if I couldn’t even make friends while I was here. And I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to make any.”

Jaden, worried about something, was another picture that felt wrong in Syrus’ mind. Well, Jaden worried about the little things here and there for sure. Like detention and tests and Dr. Crowler getting on his case for overdue assignments. And Jaden worried whenever something might happen to his friends, and he definitely worried for his friends. But Jaden worrying about something so personal and confident was strange. He was always so cheerful and confident, it shouldn’t be right. Jaden shouldn’t have to worry about something like that. He deserved not to, he was a great friend.

“Well, everyone you knew before we started here that decided not to be your friend is missing out,” Syrus declared. “You’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had, Jay. I’m glad you decided to go to school here, I don’t know what I would be doing if you hadn’t.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Jaden shot him a smile. “I think it’s working out. But, I struggled so much with whether this was worth it, and if I was worth it, and Power Bond probably makes you feel something like that. So, don’t worry. I’m glad you’re here, too. I’ll be honest, Sy, I’m not sure what I’d do if you weren’t here, either. You belong here and you deserve to be here, you’re good and you have a lot of potential. So forget Zane. If he thinks you’re not good enough, we’ll prove to him you are. And we’ll prove it to you, too.”

* * *

" _T_ _hat sounds good and all Jay, but I don’t know how to do that. It’s not like I haven’t been trying.”_

_“Well, two brains are better than one, right?” Jaden asked. “And we can probably get other people to help, too. Bastion might be able to help, and maybe Alexis. Maybe you just have to tackle the problem of Power Bond from a different angle. Don’t worry, Sy. We’ll figure it out and get through it together.”_

…

Syrus had run into a duel spirit in Dark World who realized he’d been put under a curse and was able to remove it. And once that curse was removed, Syrus then felt like he was thinking clearly for the first time since they’d arrived here.

That curse was tampering with emotions, amplifying some while suppressing others, it’d been explained to him. And those feelings were definitely affecting how he was thinking, because now he couldn’t believe he’d ever thought about turning his back on Jaden.

Yeah, he remembered what he saw. But there had to be a good reason. It was probably a difficult situation. Syrus couldn’t not give the benefit of the doubt here.

If there was one thing Syrus knew, it was that he wouldn’t be where he was today without Jaden (well, literally as well as figuratively, but he was choosing to focus on the latter.) Jaden had always been there for him, helped him grow like no one else had been able to, not even Zane. Syrus never would’ve worked up the courage to use Power Bond without him, heck, Syrus probably would’ve left Duel Academy his first year if Jaden hadn’t been there. He owed Jaden a lot, and never could come close to repaying the favor…until now.

Jaden had become warped by his own desperation and guilt. Syrus knew that what Jaden was doing now, as the Supreme King, that wasn’t Jaden’s fault. Jaden needed to be stopped, of course, but he needed help. And the amount of people left who could help him were dwindling, most of them sent to the stars. Aster and Zane were buying them time. Axel was giving him the ability to focus on what he needed to do.

He and Jaden were best friends. If anyone could help Jaden, it was Syrus.

Axel activated his duel disk, ready to duel the Supreme King. Syrus squeezed the Eye of Orichalcum in his hand. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to do any of this alone, but together they all stood a chance.

And as the duel progressed and Axel wore the Supreme King down, Syrus was able to reach Jaden’s mind.

His mindscape…felt wrong for Jaden. It should feel happy and safe, like Jaden deserved, not so cold and empty and alone. Mirrors surrounded Jaden, reflecting his mistakes, reflecting his guilt, reflecting all sorts of emotionally-charged thoughts. Syrus couldn’t read most of them, but he could get a general idea. Jaden was blaming himself for everything, for dragging his friends into his problems only for them to get hurt.

And Jaden was in the middle of it all, dragged down in his circle of blame and guilt, unaware of everything else. Including Syrus.

Syrus sat down next to him. He looked up at one of the mirrors, currently displaying Axel’s duel.

“Zane was always sure I had potential,” Syrus said. “Before I lost my confidence, I was really good, apparently. But he recently told me that I always took dueling too far. I never considered my opponent, and I used to be really cocky. He never thought I’d lose so much confidence over the Power Bond incident. I just needed to change my perspective, and my attitude was becoming bad for not just my opponents, but me too. I don’t even remember any of it, it was so long ago. But if I hadn’t reacted the way I did, maybe things would’ve gotten a lot worse.”

He glanced over at Jaden. “It’s not your fault. I know it’s not. If there was a choice, you never would’ve let it turn out that way.”

“…There was a choice,” Jaden mumbled. “It should’ve been me, not them.”

Syrus…hadn’t actually expected Jaden to respond. But he didn’t let it faze him. “That’s not a choice,” he corrected. “That’s not your fault. You tried your best, I’m sure they know that.

“You’re practically holding yourself prisoner over what you’ve done, what you’re doing. You’re holding yourself back, hoping it won’t be as bad if you do. But the rest of this, it’s not you. I won’t blame you for it. None of us will. It’ll be okay, Jay.”

“But it’s the only way,” Jaden muttered. “It’s the only way to stop them, I couldn’t… I never would’ve won. I never would’ve saved everyone.”

“Maybe not on your own,” Syrus agreed. “But try looking at it from a different angle. You’re not alone, Jay. I’m not turning my back on you, not now and never again. And I’m not the only one. I don’t know what happened with your friends from before Duel Academy, but we’re not going to abandon you. Never.”

Jaden actually moves at that, and looked over at Syrus. Syrus gently grabbed Jaden’s shoulder.

“We’ll find a way,” Syrus promised. “We’ll figure it out, and we’ll do it together.”

“…Together,” Jaden agreed.

And the Supreme King was pulled back, and Jaden could start to regain himself again.


	8. Injured | Infected | Costume

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse resolves to take action.
> 
> Jim finds a new approach.
> 
> The crew prepares for the festival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might fall a bit behind on these prompts for a bit. Not super worried about it, if I do I'll catch up as soon as possible. No locations on this one? It's kinda...vague
> 
> Been trying to work on this paper where I make a new version of Animal Crossing: New Leaf to attract a new group of players to the game, focusing on competitive players. I'm almost done! Just need a couple hundred more words. Hoping this'll be an alright paper... But that's not the only barrier to these prompts, got another writing project I need to put more time and work into. But it'll be fine.
> 
> Important notes from Injured on tumblr: #this one.......so usually i take inspiration from life when i write i would much rather write things i know than things i don't#and with this one i was like kinda stumped bc i was like. write a character w/ an injury?#i'm not an active person and i rarely actually hurt myself bad enough to say it's an injury. i've sprained my wrists a couple of times?#and then i was like haha wait in like eighth grade or so my back became permanently fucked up and still is#to the point where i have two prescriptions for it and still often go to the chiropractor. would go more if it was easier#so that is probably considered an injury so let's do my favorite: project all my problems onto various characters#and that's how this prompt happened. this is a callout @ myself i haven't planked in like two weeks and that's bad
> 
> Important notes from Infected and Costume on tumblr: #the fact that i have barely written jim at all ever is a crime and needs to be fixed i love him
> 
> Important notes for Costume: atticus,,, i know,,, but listen? i would've done harpie's brother if it wasn't for the whole thing with harpie's brother being changed to the sky scount and the sky scout actually like, being a gx character, and i just thought he would enjoy matching with alexis and there's no way that jasmine and mindy aren't already doing the harpie sisters with alexis again,,, don't @ me

> **Year Three, First Half**

Jesse winced in his chair. Nope, Duel Academy’s chairs did not agree with his back.

Not that his comfort level should be the standard for what is or isn’t a good chair, he just didn’t have the best back in the world. It wasn’t just the chairs, either, the beds weren’t the best either. North Academy hadn’t been any better, either, of course, but again, he was the problem here, not the school.

Jesse stood up from his desk and looked through a drawer. How much was he going to be moving around today? Class was over, so likely not much. The pain medicine would be fine, but could affect his ability to focus, and he had homework to work on. If he wasn’t moving around much, the pain patches wouldn’t be as likely to fall off too soon, so that’d be fine.

With a pain patch in hand, Jesse carefully maneuvered his shirt and pants so that he could get the patch in the right spot. Curse you, fracture vertebrae. When the patch was in place, it started out cold, but soon started to warm up.

Jesse shifted his clothes back in place and sat back down again.

Part of it was his own fault. Sure, beds and chairs here weren’t optimal for him specifically, but it’s not like he was doing everything he could to help the problem, either. Walking around the island to get to class helped a little, and he hadn’t done physical therapy for awhile now, but Jesse hadn’t been exercising his back as much as he should be lately, either. The least he could do was try to get into planks again, and maybe stretch out the muscles in his legs.

He should’ve been at a point where he could plank for around twenty seconds (it was a work in progress), but the last time he’d tried recently, he’d only been able to go about ten seconds before he needed a break. And honestly? He hadn’t had the energy since.

Jesse was finding himself more and more exhausted lately, ever since the day he’d arrived at Duel Academy.

Was it something about the island? The environment, the people? He was especially tired after duels lately, and dueling shouldn’t be so exhausting. Then again, it wasn’t just him, either. More people seemed to be oversleeping for class lately, according to some of his friends who had been at Duel Academy for longer than he had. And his friends seemed fatigued, too. Jesse could feel his focus fading as he tried to work.

Maybe if he wasn’t so tired all the time he could take better care of himself, and he wouldn’t be in so much pain. As it was, he hadn’t even been able to sit in class the whole day, and had had to ask to leave early. He just couldn’t handle the chairs any longer.

But it wasn’t just him. Something weird was definitely going on around here, and Jesse hoped that whatever it was made itself clear fast.

* * *

> **Year Three, First Half**

Duel Ghouls. Why did it have to be Duel Ghouls?

Animals, Jim knew how to deal with. He was used to solving problems with animals; often,   
the animal wasn’t at fault, and deescalating the situation was an easily made change in the environment. He could understand and find these issues easily by now, he’d been doing this for years. So, Kangaroo Ghouls? Would’ve been no problem.

Humans, on the other hand… Jim was human himself, sure, but Shirley had been his only friend for a very long time. He was attending Duel Academy now, but even a couple of years ago his dealings with people had been far and few between. He still sometimes slipped up, misinterpreted or misread situations. That’s why he trusted Shirley’s opinions of people so much, she could be more accurate than he was on that. It’s not that he disliked people or didn’t want to talk anyone, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Thus, with this ghoulish dueling-obsessed behavior spreading around other students like some kind of infection, Jim didn’t entirely know how to handle it.

Defeating them in duels did nothing, since they’d get back up and immediately demand a rematch. Turning down their requests was impossible because they were relentless. If they were rejected, they’d keep at it, following their desired opponent around until they got what they wanted. And dueling them wasn’t ideal in the first place, since this behavior was spreading from the Duel Ghouls winning against non-ghouls, making every duel a risk of conversion. It was best to avoid them altogether, then, when possible.

That strategy still wouldn’t return the ghouls to normal, though. And Jim didn’t like that; even if most of his friends were fine, he didn’t want to leave anyone in that ghoulish state. It was clearly bothering Jaden, too. There had to be some way to save their classmates they hadn’t thought of.

Shirley growled, and Jim turned to see a Duel Ghoul headed his way. Maybe he should worry about saving himself before helping someone else. Unfortunately, he didn’t work that way. Never had. Come on, Jim, think, there had to be something he could do. Dueling them didn’t help, so what else could he do?

What did all the Duel Ghouls have in common besides a lose on their record? The bio bands, sure, but everyone had those, and last Jim checked he wasn’t a bumbling shuffling zombie. Well, wait, the ghouls wanted to duel. What if they couldn’t? It might not revert them, but they wouldn’t be a threat. That would buy them some time to come up with a plan.

Jim bent down to the ground and picked up a rock. With careful aim, he stood up and tossed the rock at his impending opponent. The rock smashed into the duel disk and managed to deactivate it, with no hope of turning it back on.

He may have had only one eye, but his aim and perception were as accurate as ever.

The Duel Ghoul stopped to push buttons on their duel disk, but it was no use. Jim smiled. Well, maybe this plan of his would work after all.

* * *

> **Year Three, Second Half**

Jim looked at himself in the mirror. He hoped this Alligator’s Sword costume would be good enough for the school festival.

After the whole Dark World mess, he, Jesse, and Axel were supposed to go back home, but the weather was looking to be too dangerous. Not a good time to be going around in a boat. So in the meantime, they were staying at Duel Academy’s main branch.

Most of the students had risen the ranks out of Slifer, except for Jaden, so Jim had taken residence in one of the newly empty rooms after getting back from Dark World. Most of the students weren’t used to Shirley, so she gave them quire a bit of a fright. Since Jaden got along well with her, keeping her out of the way in Slifer worked out better for the other students. Plus, no one should be living alone. And Jaden hadn’t been the same for awhile now, anyway. He needed the company, even if he wouldn’t admit it.

Jim had tried to ask Jaden about his festival plans, see what he was dressing up as, but when he went to his room, Jaden was gone. It was more and more common, these days.

This costume was looking good, though.

He met up with the others soon enough. Chazz, dressed as Armed Dragon. Syrus, dressed as the Dark Magician. Alexis making an appearance as Harpie Lady (which Chazz confirmed she had done in previous festivals) with Atticus attempting to match as Harpie’s Pet Dragon. Jesse went as Sparkman. There were so many amazing costumes that there was no way Jim could remember them all, unfortunately.

He kept an eye out for Axel, to see what costume Axel had chosen, but Axel was nowhere to be seen. That, too, was being more and more common.

Jim carefully snuck up behind Jesse. “Well, if it isn’t the hero Sparkman himself! Should I ask for an autograph?”

Jesse spun around with a squeak. “Don’t scare me like that, Jim! I wasn’t paying attention!” he protested.

“You’ve been keeping an eye out for Jaden, too, haven’t you?” Jim asked. His scanned around the area with his eye; of course, he didn’t find what he was looking for. “He disappeared before the festival even began. I was hoping he’d turn up, but I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Yeah, you caught me.” Jesse sighed. “I just wish I knew he was up to. He’s been so distant lately. I wish I could help…”

Jim didn’t have the full story on that, so he couldn’t really comment. Instead, he looked around the area again, a little more fondly this time. “We don’t have festivals like this back home,” he told Jesse. “Can’t imagine North Academy does, either. So, what do you think?”

Jesse smiled. “Yeah, it is,” he agreed. “I love all the costumes, and it’s perfect for duelin’. Rumor has it Duel Spirits even show up to duel during the festival, but I don’t think I’ve seen any yet. Duel Academy’s just full of surprises. North Academy’s great, but they’d never have anything as relaxed as this.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Jim said. “I haven’t seen any spirits, either. But the festival’s all about dueling, right? And somehow, I’ve never gotten the chance to duel you during everything. So what if I challenge you to a duel now? If you win, I’ll help you keep an eye out for spirits. Or, well,” he laughed as he looked over his shoulder, to Shirley, strapped to his back, “Shirley will. She’s got a better sense for this stuff than me, especially now that I’ve only got the one eye.”

“And if you win, I’ll, uh, help you on your next dig for fossils? Though, honestly, I’ll help you either way, it sounds fun,” Jesse added. He smirked. “Honestly, a duel with you sounds fun. I can’t wait to see your monsters in action.”

“And I’ve been itching to see your Crystal Beasts first-hand,” Jim said. “Especially now that Rainbow Dragon’s in play.”

“Well then, we better get our game on,” Jesse declared. “It ain’t gonna be easy on either side, but that’s what makes it fun, right?”

 


	9. Eldritch | Deletion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chazz is remembered well despite his absence.
> 
> Jesse gets down to bottom of a prank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boy howdy we are officially behind yall but it's okay we will catch up, here's days 21 and 22. 
> 
> combined these two prompts into one big ol thing! wasn't originally intentional, i was gonna figure out something with bastion for deletion, but this certainly makes it easier to catch up. and that's the way we like it
> 
> this here's a season 3 one!!! starts out very early on in season 3 but ends like at the end of season 3. @ canon where are my jesse and chazz interactions i need more thanks

“So, you’re the North Academy representative,” Chazz noted, staring at the student sitting across the table from him.

He’d been trying to track down this representative, Jesse Anderson, all day. Turned out it hadn’t been necessary. Jaden had managed to lure Jesse out to dinner at Slifer with the promise of fried shrimp. Syrus and Hassleberry were eating at Ra for once, so it was just the three of them at the table for dinner.

Chazz had known about Jesse before he’d shown up at Duel Academy, of course. But knowing of Jesse and knowing him were two different things. And he had to admit he was curious.

After all, he’d gone to North Academy, too.

Jaden had gotten up to go to the bathroom a couple of minutes ago, leaving just Chaz and Jesse at the table at that moment.

“And you’re Chazz Princeton,” Jesse returned before taking a bite of shrimp.

“You know me?” Chazz blinked. Yeah, he knew Jesse, but he hadn’t expected the reverse. Jesse had a  _respectable_ reputation outside school. Chazz had appeared in a duel broadcast on TV once, and he’d lost and been disowned by the Princeton family. He wasn’t exactly popular.

“‘Course I do,” Jesse replied, giving Chazz a strange look. “Everyone at North Academy knows you. You were the best, everyone who was there when you were talks about you constantly. You’re The Chazz. You’re their hero.”

“I mean, yeah, of course you do,” Chazz recovered quickly. “I was the best thing to ever happen to North Academy, you should be singing my praises.”

…It’d been almost two years since he removed himself from North Academy’s roster and returned to Duel Academy. He didn’t regret it, he never would. This was where he belonged. And before he left North Academy, they’d loved him, sure. But he hadn’t expected to be remembered so fondly for so long. They’d really liked him there, huh.

Jesse rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. I’ll do that as soon as I dig out my harmonica from my bags. Gotta provide backup somehow.” Chazz snorted at that. “Still, it helps to know I’m not the only one here who’s been to North Academy. Feels a little less like I’m a fish outta water.”

“Yeah, Duel Academy’s nothing like North Academy.” Chazz pushed his shrimp around his plate. “I mean, Duel Academy’s competitive, but North Academy’s on a whole other level.”

“Duel Academy’s certainly an adjustment,” Jesse agreed. “Not a bad one. Everyone here’s been really nice. Even you ain’t so bad, Chazz.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?!” Chazz protested. Jesse simply laughed in response.

“Well, good to know the slacker crew is as annoyingly friendly as ever,” Chazz mumbled after a minute. “I’m sure they already told you to watch out for the cliffs and all that.” It’d make sense, he figured; Jesse’d already made a reputation of being prone to getting lost at Duel Academy. It wouldn’t be good if he wandered off, didn’t look where he was walking, and accidentally fell into the ocean. They’d be the kind of people to worry about that.

But Jesse gave him a blank stare. “What do you mean?”

Chazz could’ve explained the thought process he just went through. And he nearly did. But he stopped himself. He had an idea, and there was no way he was backing down from it now. “What, they didn’t? They didn’t warn you about the monster out there?”

“The what now?” Jesse frowned. “Are we talking, like, duel spirit monster, or monster monster?”

“No one knows for sure.” Chazz shrugged. “But they say there’s something out there, in the water. It’s got a bunch of eyes, and just as many tentacles. Apparently if you get to close to the water, it’ll try to grab you and pull you in, and no one will ever hear from you again.”

“…Really, now?” Jesse asked. “That seems…pretty unbelievable. Especially since the boat got here just fine.”

“Apparently it doesn’t go after boats,” Chazz told him. “Boats are too big, or something like that. I’m not saying I believe it either. But it seems like something those dorks would try to warn you about, in case it’s true. It’s not like you can be too safe on Duel Academy Island…”

The last part he muttered to himself. Jesse rose his eyebrows at that, but gave no response. Jaden got back from his bathroom break a few minutes later. Whether Jesse believed Chazz’s prank or not, he gave no indication either way.

* * *

“…You were just messing with me…weren’t you…?”

Chazz shrugged as he walked over to Jesse, who was still sprawled out on the ground. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Everyone had been transported back to Duel Academy from Dark World not long ago. What transported them, he wasn’t sure, though Syrus was staring up at the sky and staying tight-lipped at the moment. Jesse, apparently, had been laying down since Jaden freed him from Yubel’s control(?)  (He was kind of fuzzy on a lot of details, getting used to not actually being dead and all. Syrus had yelled something at the sky when they had first got back, but Chazz’s ears had been ringing and his mind had been swimming, and he’d missed it) while Dr. Crowler made sure he was okay. Dr. Crowler was still next to him now, not sure what to do but unwilling to leave Jesse alone. Chazz figured Dr. Crowler could use some help, and as soon as Jesse saw him approach, he began talking.

“The sea monster,” Jesse explained.

“The sea monster,” Chazz repeated. He’d almost forgotten that story he’d made up at the beginning of the year. “Maybe I was. How would you’ve figured that out in Dark World?” If Jesse still remembered that prank, he was surprised Jesse hadn’t figured it out earlier. Awhile back, he’d figured that Jesse had and didn’t care enough to call him out on that, but that clearly wasn’t the case.

“Happens when you’re possessed by a spirit that worked with a teacher,” Jesse told him. “…Not that Viper worked here long… Long enough to figure that out, though, I reckon.”

Chazz snorted. “Fine, I was messing with you, I made it up. You found me out. I figured they told you to watch out for the water because you have a habit of getting lost. They wouldn’t want you wandering off a cliff or something.”

Jesse smirked. “I knew it. You ain’t so bad, Chazz Princeton.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Chazz protested. Jesse’s smirk became a grin.

“You thought Jay and the others would be worried about me,” Jesse said. “If you thought of that… You must’ve been worried, too.”

Chazz huffed and shoved his hands in his coat pockets. “Maybe I was. Maybe I have been, maybe I am. North Academy students always have each other’s backs when not dueling each other, or something like that. Happy now?!”

“I will be,” Jesse replied, “when I’m outta this ridiculous outfit. This sure is some get-up, huh?”


	10. Witch | Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old friend tries to pull herself together.
> 
> Jaden reflects on his own actions, both recent and old.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....you remember last chapter, when I sorta...put two prompts together into one story and stuff! it kinda happened here too, kinda on accident again, but it works, i think.
> 
> man what a good time to pull in the dark magician girl, i'm glad for the excuse i love her
> 
> this here's post-series!!! hope yall enjoy

“Well, this certainly doesn’t happen everyday,” Jaden said. 

“I’m sorry,” the Dark Magician Girl apologized. “It would be nice to visit you all more often, but so much has been happening…”

“No, no, it’s chill,” Jaden told her. “I just want to ask you real quick: Do you remember my duel with Yugi?”

She smiled. “I do. You dueled well, you’ve grown into an incredible duelist. It was a lot of fun!”

The two were talking in a secluded wooded area in Jaden’s home dimension. This location was intentional; they were unlikely to be disturbed here. It likely wouldn’t be a problem if they were. The Dark Magician Girl was in spirit form, so most people wouldn’t be able to see her anyway. Jaden certainly didn’t mind looking crazy, seemingly talking to himself, if anyone found them. But the more people were around, the more likely they would be seen by someone else who could see spirits, so it was better to take precaution.

They walked along a small, shallow river. Jaden’s hands were shoved into his jacket pockets. The Dark Magician Girl had wrapped one of her hands around her wrist, her wand hanging lightly from her left hand and her arms behind her back.

Normally, the Dark Magician Girl was cheerful, bubbly, but right now, that clearly wasn’t the case.

Her smile faded. “I wish this was purely a social visit,” she said. 

“Don’t worry about it. I figured something was up. Sure sounded like it when you contacted me,” Jaden replied. “And this is my job, anyway. So, what’s up?”

“…You’ve probably noticed. Something’s changing,” she told him. “A lot of spirits are uneasy. I feel it, too, and…you’re part duel spirit now, aren’t you? You can probably sense it, too.”

“Yeah, I feel it,” Jaden muttered. “But it’s not like before. It’s not the Light of Destruction, and it’s not Nightshroud. I’m not sure what it could be.”

“I don’t know, either. Whatever it is, it seems ancient. Then, I suppose most threats to our worlds are.”

“You’ve got that one right.” He glanced over at her. “But there’s more to it than just that, isn’t there? Something else is on your mind, I can tell.”

The Dark Magician Girl stopped walking. She looked down, examining her feet as she gathered her words before she spoke. “…I don’t know how often you visit the other dimensions. I don’t know what you’ve seen. But some of the spirits have been more than easy. Some of us have gotten…dark. Distrustful. Aggressive.”

Jaden stopped beside her. He thought back to the day before, when he’d gotten into a fight with Chazz over something probably not worth it. He took in a sharp breath through his teeth and responded, “Yeah, that’d make sense.”

Now that he thought about it, he still hadn’t apologized to Chazz, had he?

The Dark Magician Girl glanced over at him, concern washing over her face. “I suppose you’ve seen it, then. If it was just a few of us, I wouldn’t be so worried, but more and more of us keep…changing. And the things they say…” She stopped there.

That was it, wasn’t it? They were getting to what had the Dark Magician Girl as downtrodden as she was. Whatever incoming threat was definitely a concern, but right now her thoughts were on the spirits already around her, and their unusual behavior. She seemed unwilling to just force Jaden to deal with her problems. But, he pushed through.

“What kinds of things?”

She laughed a bit, the sound not matching her expression at all. “I… I guess these days, I’m not so trusted as I used to be,” she admitted. “Many of them push me away, either with their words or their silence. Different duel spirits have different abilities; Yubel is capable of many things Winged Kuriboh is not, and not even Neos can do the same things Winged Kuriboh can. I’m a magician. I can do magic, some of it similar to what your own partners can do. The others know that. And…

“Well, a witch isn’t so different from a magician, is it?” she finished lamely, giving a shrug.

Jaden stared at her.

“I know,” the Dark Magician Girl said before he could find his voice again. “It’s selfish, right? Thinking about comments like that over everything else going on. I know I’m not the only victim of it. And it’s not their fault, they’re not themselves, so I shouldn’t be taking it so personally, either.”

“You’re not doing anything wrong,” Jaden told her.

She blinked, not sure what to say to that.

“I loved dueling when I was little, used to do it all the time,” he said. “But when I dueled with other people, bad things used to happen to them. Some people thought I was… I don’t know, some kind of demon or something.”

“A demon?” she asked. “Jaden, or Yubel?”

“Does it really matter?” He shrugged. “If I wasn’t…me, I might’ve never dueled again. People can say and think some nasty things when they’re scared or hurt. I know I have. And it might not really be what they think, and you might know that, too. But it still hurts, most of the time. And there’s nothing wrong with that. You’re not doing anything wrong.”

“…Maybe I’m not,” she mumbled.

Jaden offered the Dark Magician Girl a smile.

“We’ll get to the bottom of it. We’ll figure out what’s going on, and we’ll fix it, and we’ll make sure everyone’s back to normal again,” he promised.

“…Thank you.”


	11. Celebration | Monster | Fake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaden remembers his plans for the future.
> 
> Syrus stares himself down in the mirror.
> 
> Jim answers some questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't really.....got much to say about these, do i? uh. i've started my quest to finally actually beat pokemon emerald. didn't have a gameboy advance growing up, tried emulating it but never could get to the elite four, and now i have this physical copy of emerald and i want to do it! it's time! all my party pokemon are girls so far, except one of my torchic who is a boy but he's an honorary girl too, so let's go lesbians! only the power of lesbians can finally take down that psychic gym!!
> 
> we're in the home stretch yall! hope you enjoy! when this is over i'll start working on my other stuff again don't worry, this isn't the end of me writing gx! if you haven't already, feel free to check out return from the different dimension or bacon saver, as those will be getting more attention again soon. but for now! more ygotober!

> **Afterwards -- Home**

Jaden smiled as both his hands stretched across the keys of the piano keyboard in front of him, playing a quiet C Major chord..

It’d been too long since he actually sat down and played the piano.

After a moment of remembering how his hands had to stretch to play, how he had to put pressure on the keys to get the desired volumes on this keyboard, he began to break into his standard warmup song: Fur Elise.

Remembering the small details of playing didn’t take long. It was his own keyboard, after all, he was readjusting to.

Maybe his friends would be surprised to hear that he could play piano. Maybe not. He didn’t think it came up during his years at Duel Academy, anyway. While he’d been there, he almost always talked about dueling. Duels were one of his greatest loves. But, well, music was up there, too, even if hadn’t gotten to play much in awhile.

After everything that happened with Yubel when Jaden was little, and after Yubel was sent away, Jaden hadn’t dueled much. He soon forgot why, of course, when he forgot Yubel completely. But even if Jaden forgot, no one else did, and most of the people around him were afraid to duel him, or to do much of anything with him, really. He couldn’t duel by himself, so for a long time, he didn’t duel mich at all. But he’d still been a kid, and dueling had been one of his biggest outlets of energy, creativity, and fun. Without it, he didn’t know what to do with himself, and his parents hadn’t been completely sure, either. But soon enough he ended up taking music lessons, and began learning to play musical instruments: piano, clarinet, recorder, guitar…

The piano had come first, and had always been one of his favorites. He’d never had an actual piano of course, just the keyboard he was playing now, and a couple others like it before. One of his fantasies growing up had been going out and living in his own apartment, taking this keyboard with him, and be able to play it outside of a cramped corner of a room. And that dream was closer now than ever. He’d graduated from Duel Academy, and even if he wasn’t going to be living alone, he was going to be living somewhere else. And this keyboard was coming with him.

He’d very nearly gone to a music school instead of Duel Academy. But, well, life happens, and Jaden was pretty sure things had turned out for the better this way. 

Properly warmed up, now, he tried to recall a fantasy he’d once memorized. It was gone now, though. With a shrug, he instead switched to a song that had been popular a few years before he’d attended Duel Academy.

He’d barely played the piano at all during his years at Duel Academy. Putting aside all the crazy situations that kept popping up, he’d never found a piano on the island he’d had access to. And even when he was home during Academy breaks, he was usually busy. He’d gotten the chance to play a little here and there, but this was the first time in awhile he could really play and know the next opportunity he’d have to play would be soon.

His hands paused. His brain froze. He was operating on memory completely here, and more muscle memory than memory of the sheet music. It had been a long time since he’d even read the sheet music for this piece. The sheet music wouldn’t help anyway, because he’d decided not to learn part of that arrangement and improvised something else instead, which he memorized and and kept in his own performances of this song. What he was forgetting was a part he’d made up himself. He took out his left hand and began messing around with only the notes for his right hand.

Now that he thought about it, if he was taking this keyboard with him (and he was), he was going to have to tell Jesse and Chazz he could play it. Preferably before they saw it just sitting around while he was busy elsewhere and they became confused on how it got there. It wasn’t like he didn’t want anyone to know or it was a secret, but it would feel weird to be like, Hey Chazz I know we’ve known each other for at least three years now and we know a lot about each other by this point but I can also play the piano a little and just never brought it up.

That was later, though. For now he was here, playing his keyboard. A smile grew on his face. He hadn’t been this happy in a few months. It was a different kind of happiness than dueling could give him, this happiness was more calm and compact. 

He’d figured out the notes he needed. Jaden went back into the full piece, starting at the beginning of the section he’d been stopped in.

He hadn’t really celebrated graduating from Duel Academy yet, had he? He couldn’t think of a better way to do it than this.

* * *

> **Year Two -- Main Gate**

Syrus Truesdale used to be a very cocky duelist.

Syrus Truesdale used to hold himself highly, highly enough that he thought of himself higher than other people.

It was a hard image to reconcile with Syrus Truesdale now, who barely believed in himself, who assumed he was going to lose before a duel even started. But, that was the truth.

Syrus honestly could barely remember being that person, or acting that way, except some of his latter time living with that attitude. His memory wasn’t exactly the greatest, especially these days. Most of what he knew about how he used to be and act, was from Zane more recently telling him stories. Personally, Syrus preferred himself now to his old self. He suffered with some insecurity and self-esteem issues, sure, but better that than thinking he was better than everyone else, right? Especially when it wasn’t true. Geez, he used to be worse than Chazz.

Though, Syrus knew that becoming who he was now wasn’t entirely intentional. Zane had been doing his best to help. After all, Syrus had been so cocky that he didn’t even consider his opponent’s strategies and thoughts when he made his moves, leading to his own downfall. He hadn’t respected his opponents, and Zane had been trying to teach him that. But when Syrus couldn’t learn that, Zane did his best to ateer him in the right direction another way. Make it so Syrus’ foolishness didn’t lead to his own cards causing him to lose.

He’d taken the sealing of Power Bond hard. Harder than Zane had thought. Cockiness fell to a total lack of confidence. But, in the end, Syrus wouldn’t be where he was today without that step. He learned to respect his opponents, and with help from his friends, his confidence was re-growing. He had a long ways to go, he knew that, but that didn’t invalidate the progress he’d already made.

Zane had been proud of how much he’d grown. Zane had been happy to see where he was at. And that was something Syrus could be proud of, too. His bro was the best. If he thought Syrus was doing well, that actually meant something.

Syrus couldn’t recognize the person in front of him, gloating about how respect was meaningless and power and winning were all that mattered.

Sure, this person had Zane’s face, and Zane’s hair, and Zane’s cards, but could this really be his brother? His brother, who tried so hard to teach him respect? Who believed in him, even through his cockiness and then his insecurity issues? Even if it hadn’t always felt like it, Zane never gave up on him, never stopped caring about him, and absolutely never compromised his own morals, even at cost to himself.

Zane had once given up his own soul to save Syrus. Now, he didn’t even care that the duel they were about to have would cause them both large amounts of pain.

This wasn’t Zane. This was a monster pretending to be his brother.

Honestly, the way Zane acted now reminded Syrus of himself, how he used to act. Syrus never used to respect his opponents, and now Zane didn’t, either. The only difference was that Syrus’ attitude had been largely unfounded. He lacked the experience and knowledge to back it up, and had figured that Power Bond, the card his brother gave him, would always help him win. Zane lacked respect, was willing to do anything to win, but he had the skill to actually do it. Zane could afford to be cocky because he really was the best.

If Zane had never gotten through to Syrus, if his friends never helped him get to where he was, would he have become the same way that Zane was now? Would this have been his future?

But wins like this, duels like what Zane was having, they didn’t mean anything. Not if his opponents were going to be hurt like this. And if Zane was disregarding his opponents so much, eventually he’d slip. Eventually, there would be an opening in his strategy.

That would be Syrus’ opportunity.

If Zane was going to mirror Syrus’ past, then Syrus could mirror Zane’s. Zane had gotten through to Syrus once. And now it was time for Syrus to return the favor. If anyone could do it, it had to be him.

He only hoped he could play his cards right, here. He didn’t have any room for doubt or mistakes against Zane. There would only be one chance at this.

It was time for him to finally surpass his older brother.

* * *

> **Afterwards -- Classroom**

Well, life had a way of throwing twists and turns, eh? Duel Academy was great and all, but Jim never expected to find himself working there.

Not that that was a bad thing. And not that Jim was a professor there or anything. He would substitute for a class if he was needed once in a great while, almost always for Alexis, and Duel Academy was fine enough for that. The school needed actually qualified teachers to regularly teach, though. 

No, he wasn’t a professor. The Slifer dorms had gone nearly empty once, but they couldn’t stay that way forever. Someone needed to look after the kids there. For some reason, that position had been hard to fill. And, well, Duel Academy had a way of attracting all sorts of phenomena, and someone with experience in dealing with it needed to actually stay around the school. Someone who wasn’t busy constantly grading papers and preparing for lessons (poor Alexis, Jim didn’t envy her one bit, even if she did enjoy it). 

So Jim was the head of the Slifer dorms now, and was on hand in case any other incidents occurred? Crazy world.

But he couldn’t deny that it was fun, being around Duel Academy again. He got to hang around Alexis, the kids were smart but had a great sense of humor, too, and of course, they let him bring Shirley with him, too. It would’ve been a deal breaker if they hadn’t. 

The Slifer kids were all used to both him and Shirley. But most of the other kids never saw him, never really knew he was there. Which could lead to some interesting situations.

Which lead him to today. Alexis had taken a couple of days off to see everyone in Domino City, spend time with her brother. Jim was fine with staying behind to fill in for her classes so she could go. It hit him while he was walking to one of the classes: he hadn’t helped out with any classes yet this year, and this class was full of freshmen. And the amount of Slifers in the class was a minority. He probably hadn’t even met most of these kids.

Oh, well. Dueling basics. He could handle that. It couldn’t be that bad.

“It’s Jim!” one of the Slifers in the class yelled as he walked in. He waved to them. The Slifers in the room were pretty excited; they all seemed to like him this year. He liked them all, too, so he was glad for that. The rest of the students just looked confused.

“Who’s he?” he heard someone else ask. Confused murmuring broke out from the students, most of them wondering who he was, while the Slifers wondering why he was there. Shirley, strapped to Jim’s back as usual, tensed up behind him, but didn’t react. She was usually pretty good with the students, and if things got out of hand he could handle her easily. Today she was on her best behavior, and Jim was grateful. 

“Alright, settle down, everyone,” Jim said when he was all set at the front of the room. The whispers stopped. “I realize most of you here don’t know who I am, so allow me to introduce myself real quick. You can call me Jim. I run the Slifer dorms. Alexis isn’t here today, so I’ll be filling in.”

One of the Ra Yellow students raised their hand. “I haven’t had any classes with you before. Do you, um, do you teach any classes?”

“Nope. I’m not a professor here,” Jim answered.

“Why are you here, then?” one of the Obelisk Blue students asked without raising their hand. “Classes are supposed to be taught by  _professors_. If you don’t teach, what do you do?”

“It’s always a good idea to question the world around you. You’ll find that most things have an explanation. This, though, you’ll find you already know the answer to. I’m at the Slifer dorms, helping out any students who need it, making sure everyone gets something to eat, that sort of thing,” Jim explained. “Still, you’ll find I’m more than capable of teaching today’s lesson.”

It wasn’t surprising for a few students to discount him at first because he didn’t have a degree. Happened every year. It didn’t bother Jim much. He’d turn them around soon enough.

Another Obelisk student raised their hand, but they seemed much more nervous than the previous student. “The… The alligator on your back is fake, right?” they stammered.

Shirley growled at that. Some of the students gasped. Jim laughed and reached back with a hand to pat her and calm her down. “Easy there, girl.” He turned back to the class. “Don’t hurt her feelings, mate. She’s a crocodile, not an alligator. And she’s real, all right, real as this.” With his free hand, he reached up to tightly touch the bandages still wrapped around where his right eye used to be.

Even if it hadn’t been his original eye, there’d been an eye there under the bandages for many years. Now, there was nothing. He didn’t have any problem with that. It was proof that he’d made some great friends.

The Ra and Obelisk kids were talking amongst themselves again, nervous about the idea of having a live crocodile in the room.

“Calm down,” he told them. “Shirley will behave herself, there’s nothing to worry about.” He laughed once more. “I think we’ve had enough questions about myself. Let’s get started. Today we’re going to be talking about phases…”


	12. Melancholy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaden realizes that what might be normal for him might not be normal for everyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Year Four, Second Half...
> 
> this one was a length i decided i was okay with posting it by itself.
> 
> #so......funny story!#this was actually going to be what i wrote for eyes! until i accidentally skipped over it. and then i forgot and did something else#meanwhile what i wrote for celebration was almost going to be what i wrote for melancholy! but decided to work it out this way instead#these all work both the way i'd originally intended and this way too i got it figured out just. kinda a funny thing

Some days, Jaden was glad that the weather hadn’t allowed for Jesse, Jim, and Axel to go back to their schools.

Other days, he wished they were gone.

This was one of the latter days.

“I don’t see what the point of going to class is,” Jaden mumbled from his chair as he ripped his sandwich in half. One of the halfs he held down for Pharaoh, who was sitting on his lap. The other he ate for himself.

Jim sighed. Only part of it was his words, Jaden was pretty sure, and part of it was definitely the fact that he was feeding Pharaoh half a sandwich. Hey, it wasn’t his fault sandwiches were Pharaoh’s favorites. “You’ll fall behind on your schoolwork.”

Jaden snorted. “When am I not behind on schoolwork?”

“It’s good for you to get out and see your friends,” Jim argued.

“I’m here if they really need me for something. But it’s better for them to not be around me right now. I already explained why,” Jaden told him.

Jim rolled his eye. “And I told you that I don’t believe a word of it, didn’t I?”

“More than once. But it’s still true.” Jaden yanked his half of the sandwich up as Pharaoh, who had finished his, tried to snatch it from his hand. Pharaoh huffed at him. Jaden smirked.

Since everyone had got back to Duel Academy safely, Jim had taken up residence in the Slifer dorms, and seemed to have made it his personal mission to thwart the rest of Jaden’s plans for the year. For one thing, it was hard to avoid Jim when Jim was in his room constantly, even when Jaden was successfully avoiding the rest of his friends and keeping them out of trouble. No matter how much Jaden tried to explain Jim that something dangerous was on its way, Jim refused to leave him alone. Not to mention he kept trying to push Jaden to go to class, too. All he’d do in class is sleep, and Jaden had more important things to do than that right now.

It was annoying at its best, and irritating at its worse. No matter what Jaden said or did, Jim refused to let up.

“Okay, that’s it.” Jim stood up. “You’re going to class whether you like it or not. At the very least, it’s bad for you to sit in your room all day. No wonder you’re always in such a bad mood.” Before Jaden could respond, he scooped Jaden up into his arms. With an audible mrrow, Pharaoh jumped out of Jaden’s now airborne lap and onto the floor.

“Hey— C’mon, put me down!” Jaden protested. He tried to wiggle out of Jim’s grasp, but Jim wouldn’t let him.

Jim nudged Jaden’s door open, tossed Jaden out onto the ground, and shut the door after him. Pharaoh had made it out the door just before it closed; he sat down next to Jaden, who was now sprawled out on the ground.

“See you at class!” Jim called out cheerfully from behind the door. “It’s a mess in here, I’m cleaning up your stuff before I head over.”

“Jim, open up, this isn’t fair!!” Jaden yelled back, but Jim gave no response. Grumbling to himself, he pushed himself back up into a standing position. Pharaoh stood up and brushed himself against his legs.

He didn’t have too much of a choice right now, did he? He was out of his room. He might as well go to class.

“Everyone pull out your camera. We’ve got a Bigfoot sighting,” Chazz announced as Jaden entered the classroom.

Jaden sighed. Syrus beamed at Jaden as Jaden sat down next to him, and he handed Jaden a spare pencil and paper. Jaden mumbled his thanks to him. Jaden hadn’t been planning to go to class today, so he wasn’t exactly prepared.

Jim made it to class not too long after, and class started soon after that.

Dr. Crowler was teaching. Honestly, Jaden was barely paying attention, so he wasn’t sure what they were talking about. He watched Dr. Crowler move and speak. He was surprised he was even able to stay awake in class at all, so that itself was a victory for him. It felt like a victory, anyway, until Dr. Crowler moved to the board.

“Wait, is he writing words on the board?” Jaden asked himself under his breath.

He hadn’t meant to actually ask someone else, but Syrus heard him. “Of course he is. Have you been gone from class that long?” Syrus asked. “Or, usually you fall asleep by now, right? The teachers always write on the board.”

Jaden shook his head. “No, I’ve seen teachers use the board before, but… This is the first time it’s looked like anyone’s actually trying to write words. Usually it looks like, I don’t know, pictures?” he tried to explain. “It never really looked like anything.”

And it had looked like this time was going to be the same, at first, until suddenly, what Dr. Crowler had been writing actually looked like letters.

“Wait, Jaden, can you not actually see what’s on the board?” Syrus asked him.

Jaden opened his mouth to argue he could, but just then the letters disappeared from the board. The lines seemed to be gone entirely, replaced by fuzzy marks that really didn’t look like they meant anything. He blinked, but nothing changed.

 _I’m not giving you my vision for the rest of class, or someone’s going to notice. I know you don’t want to draw more attention to yourself. You’re lucky Syrus hasn’t noticed yet_ , Yubel told him.  _How long has your eyesight been like this?_

He didn’t really know how to answer either question. “I didn’t think there was anything to see,” he told Syrus.

“What did you think the teachers have been doing on the board this whole time? Why did you never ask?” Syrus pressed.

Jaden shrugged. “ I don’t know. No one else seemed confused by it, so I just thought classes were like that.”

Both of their voices were rising. They were bound to get called out for it soon. Just as that thought crossed Jaden’s mind, Dr. Crowler approached their table. Jaden prepared himself for the scolding about talking in class, a threat of detention maybe.

“Jaden, what does the first sentence on the board say?” Dr. Crowler asked him instead.

Jaden blinked. “Uh…” Okay, so there were supposed to be words on the board. Words making up a sentence? It’d be a lot easier to guess if he’d been actually paying attention to the lesson. But, well, you can’t lead a horse to water. “Something about Spell cards, right?” he guessed.

“Whoa, slacker, you weren’t joking,” Jaden heard mumbled behind him. Had Chazz heard that whole conversation, too?

“Everything on the board is about Counter Traps,” Dr. Crowler said. “You can’t tell what’s on the board at all, can you? Has your eyesight really been this bad? Is this why you always sleep in class?”

Part of it, anyway, but Jaden didn’t know what to say.

“Jaden, do you need glasses? Should you be wearing glasses?” Syrus added.

“After this class is over, I’m sending you out to get your vision checked,” Dr. Crowler decided.

Oh, boy, more things Jaden didn’t want to do. But he wasn’t going to get out of this one, either, especially when Dr. Crowler asked Alexis to go with him.


	13. Death | Rebirth | Trick-or-Treat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chazz plays Go Fish.
> 
> Jesse gets some fresh air.
> 
> The crew gets into costume.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important notes for Trick-or-Treat: #these are all like....snapshots i guess rather than an actual cohesive story. it's the best i could do sorry
> 
> These are the last batch! Hope you all enjoy!

> **Year Three, First Half -- Dark World**

At the end, all Chazz felt was hate, hate, hate.

Hatred towards Yubel for putting them in this situation. Hatred for this Mad King guy for doing this to them. Hatred towards Jesse for having to get left behind and making them chase him down. Hatred towards Dark World for being the way that it was.

Most of all, he felt hatred for Jaden. For being both the best duelist and the biggest slacker he’d ever met. For being unbeatable while letting himself stay down at Slifer. For running off on his own in Dark World, of all places. For putting Jesse above the rest of them. For letting them all die so he could keep going, keep looking for Jesse.

There was always another option, there had to be. Jaden never let them down before. And yet, he kept brute forcing his way through the situation, let the Mad King sacrifice them all.

Jaden met Jesse, they instantly became friends, and what, now everyone else met nothing to him?

Some people, at the end, are happy. Others become regretful. Feel guilty, plead forgiveness.

But, at the end, all Chazz felt was hate.

Then, he was sent to the stars. Died. Whatever. He’d seen it happen before and he was no idiot, he knew what this was. Wrapping it up in a fancy name didn’t change that.

And death? Death was nothingness. Quiet. Peaceful. Restful.

…At first.

Then Chazz opened his eyes and realized he’d basically fell asleep. Actual death was a lot worse. He was trapped in a small space and couldn’t move very much. There was nothing to do. He could see the rest of his friends who’d been sacrificed, but they were asleep, and even if they were awake he had no way of communicating with them. The scenery here was dull and boring. And worst of all, Ojama Green and Ojama Black were here with him.

All attempts of escape or reaching anyone in some way failed. Eventually, Chazz shuffled his deck and began using it to play Go Fish with the Ojamas.

It was pretty clear to all three of them by this point that everyone was still alive.

Before he’d been sent to the stars, all Chazz could feel was hate. But now that he was there, all that hatred was gone. In hindsight, it was ridiculous he’d even felt that way. After all, he had no idea what he would’ve done if he was in Jaden’s position. He was pretty sure there was nothing Jaden  _could_ do. Sometimes, there really was no other way.

He just wished he’d realized all this sooner. You know, before he got sent to the stars. He certainly hadn’t said or done anything to help that situation.

Some people, at the end, are happy. Others are regretful. Feel guilty, plead forgiveness.

Chazz hadn’t been able to feel any of that until after the end came and went.

* * *

> **Year Three, Second Half -- Forest**

“Look, they’re serving fried shrimp for dinner. You can’t just stay in here forever,” Chazz argued.

Jesse rolled his eyes. “Chazz, I’m not used to being back in my own body yet.” His voice was hoarse. “I haven’t been cleared to  _walk_ outside therapy. It ain’t like I’m choosing to not go out.” 

“Then, here.” Chazz dragged over a wheelchair from the opposite side of the room. “I’m taking you out to get fresh air, they can’t be too mad about that. And if they are, then I’m kidnapping you.”

“Fine, fine, just… help me get into the chair…” Jesse relented.

Since returning from Dark World, Jesse had barely left the nurse’s office, and never on his own. He was kept laying down in one of the beds most of the time, unless someone was working with him to help him regain control over his body. He was still transitioning back to being himself after having his soul sealed in Rainbow Dragon, and it was rough. He couldn’t stand up without help, he wasn’t entirely used to talking, and while he’d made a lot of progress, there was still a ways to go.

Then, it hadn’t been very long since they got back, either, so it wasn’t unreasonable. Jesse was trying to be more patient with his recovery than some other people were. Case in point, Chazz.

If Jesse was honest, he had no idea what this was about. But he didn’t have it in him to argue against it. So Chazz helped Jesse into the wheelchair, Jesse adjusted himself as best he could, and Chazz wheeled him out.

“This can’t just be about food,” Jesse mumbled eventually. “They feed me, you know that, and I don’t really care what I eat right now.”

“Well, I’m still taking you to dinner,” Chazz told him. “Everyone else is so gloomy and depressing when we eat, especially when they’re serving fried shrimp. It’d be nice to be around someone who doesn’t just whine throughout the whole meal for a change.”

Jesse had his doubts that Chazz was exempt from that behavior, but didn’t bring it up. “So, there is something else.”

“You caught me, I guess.” Chazz stopped. They’d taken a bit of a roundabout path back toward the Obelisk dorms, and still weren’t there yet. No one else was there. Chazz stared straight ahead. “It’s stupid, I don’t know why I keep thinking about this, and you’re the last person I should be dumping complaints on.”

“I can’t walk too great yet, but I can still listen, my ears work fine.” Jesse tried to look up at Chazz. Chazz still wasn’t looking at him. “What’s on your mind, then?”

“It’s stupid,” Chazz reiterated. Jesse rolled his eyes. “I just…keep thinking back to Dark World. Before we found you, before we lost Jaden, even. He kept… He wouldn’t slow down for anything, and he kept running off on his own if he thought we were moving too slow, even though he knew it was more dangerous to split up. You were all he talked about, all he could think about. And at some point, it started feeling like he cared more about you than he did anyone else.”

Jesse blinked. His memories of the whole ordeal were fuzzy at best, and it’s not like he knew what most other people were up to at the time, even if he could remember. He had no idea.

“And at some point everyone’s feelings got weird because of some Spell card, we know that now,” Chazz went on. “Most’ve what I felt then was biased against Jaden because of it. But… I still can’t stop thinking about it.”

“You know he cares a lot about you,” Jesse offered.

Chazz appeared to be trying his best to glare a hole into a nearby tree. “As much as you, though?” he countered.

“We were in different situations,” Jesse reminded him. “Y’all were there. I wasn’t. And everyone was having a rough time, Jaden, too. He was blaming himself for what happened to me, none of you were sure I even  _could_ be found. But if anything, I think he trusted you. He trusted you to help him find me. He trusted you could handle yourselves on your own, that y’all would be okay while he made the extra push he thought he needed to to find me. If he thought you wouldn’t make it, I don’t think he’d have left you, or even let you go with him. And if you went missing, I think he’d have done all the same just to bring you home again.”

“Maybe,” Chazz mumbled. “Wouldn’t be the first time he’d have to save me. Look where that trust got us, though.”

“Look where it got me,” Jesse said. “He trusted me to get everyone out of the desert, and I got myself possessed. That boy’s stubborn. He believes in people way more than they believe in themselves. It brings out the best in us, though.”

“Yeah.” Chazz shrugged. “I shouldn’t really let what he thinks of me bother me that much, anyway.”

“Of course you do,” Jesse replied softly. “And that’s okay. You care about him, too.”

Chazz had nothing to say to that.

“Anyway, if you don’t want to think about that, how about this?” Jesse went on. “It’ll probably be another couple of weeks before I’m good to go again. And until then I can’t duel, go to class, or do anything. It’s boring. What am I supposed to do with myself? But, after some negotiating, I was able to talk them down to a one duel per day limit. As long as I’m in the office, don’t use a duel disk, and don’t duel per long. So if any of y’all are aching for a duel anytime soon, I’m available.”

Chazz snorted. “As if you’ll be a challenge right now. Get back to me when you’re on your feet again, Anderson. Maybe Syrus will take pity on you and let you duel him.” 

“Well, then he and I’ll just have to work out all new strategies. By the time I duel you, I’ll be like a whole new duelist,” Jesse decided.

“As if I’m going to be the same duelist by then, either. You’re on,” Chazz declared. “I’ll take down those Crystal Beasts of yours.”

“I can’t wait to see you try.”

* * *

> **Afterwards -- Home**

“So, what’re we all dressing up as for the Halloween party?” Jaden asked.

“I’m gonna be Jessie from Team Rocket,” Jesse explained.

“Really? I’m just going to be myself,” Jaden admitted.

Chazz snorted. “I’m also going to be myself.”

“Well, uh… this’ll be a fun party!” Jesse laughed.

* * *

“So, we’re already to go, ri– Uh…” Jesse trailed off. He stopped in place, staring at the other two in front of him.

After they’d shared their costume plans, the party wasn’t going to start for awhile yet, so none of them had needed to be ready. Jesse had gone into a different room to get his wallet (why did he leave it on the sink???) and, for the first time, he realized both Jaden and Chazz were dressed the same as before.

Jaden was dressed almost completely in black– black jacket, black shirt, black pants. Golden eyes peeked out from under his bangs, as opposed to the usual brown. Chazz, meanwhile, was mostly the same before, but now wearing a blue jacket instead of his usual black.

“I thought y’all were going as yourselves,” Jesse said.

“Yeah, myself. I’m like, a toned down version of the Supreme King,” Jaden explained. “Kinda? It’s not super obvious, I decided on this last minute so I couldn’t do anything better, but that’s probably for the best. But like, it’s Halloween? He was kinda scary.”

“And I’m me, before I went to North Academy,” Chazz added. “It’s perfect, because everyone will hate it, including me. And it’ll be worse for anyone who didn’t know me back then. And, uh, besides, you’re not one to talk. You said you were actually going to dress up as something, and then you didn’t change.”

“Yeah, because I was already in my costume,” Jesse told him. He adjusted the jacket he was wearing so that it was no longer obscuring his shirt from view. It looked similar to the white shirt he normally wore, but with a giant red R on it. “I’m Jesse. From Team Rocket? From Pokemon?”

“Oh….oh, now I get it,” Jaden said, nodding.

* * *

“What do you mean, you never went trick-or-treating?” Syrus asked.

Jesse shrugged. “Well, I mean, it’s not really like I could. We lived in the middle of nowhere, there wasn’t any place we could walk to. Unless, like, you’re expecting a bunch of trees to give you candy? Which nobody is, that’s dumb.”

“Then what did you do?” Syrus pressed.

“Watch scary movies, I guess? And we’d get some candy in case anyone stopped by, but no one ever did because nobody’s out there,” Jesse replied. “One year we drove around to a few relatives’ houses, that’s the only time we did anything close to trick-or-treating. And, uh, I guess school made us dress in costumes on the day, until we were like, eleven. The last time I remember dressing up, I was some kind of princess. The sleeping one, maybe.”

“You haven’t done a costume at all for that long? Geez, that sucks,” Syrus commented.

“I only ever really cared about the chocolate, so it never bothered me,” Jesse admitted.

“Then what’re we waiting for? Let’s go get some of the chocolate.”

* * *

“Professor Banner, no, we’re not…doing that…” Jaden muttered. One hand was rubbing at his temples, the other place gently on Pharaoh, who was sitting in hsi lap.

Professor Banner’s spirit floated in front of him. “I don’t see why not.”

“You don’t see the problem with us, like, doing a ghost hunting youtube series where the ghost is just like, you, messing with us,” Jaden reiterated.

“That would be correct.”

“Well, the first problem is that I don’t even want to,” Jaden said. “Besides, it’d probably get really boring really fast, it’d just be like…” He pulled a portable game console out of his pocket and sat it on the floor. “Professor Banner, if your ghost is really here, then catch this Pokemon for me. That wouldn’t even be fun for anyone to watch the first time.”

“It’s not like there aren’t other approaches. Analyze audio! Video! Photos! Maybe something will actually happen,” Professor Banner suggested.

Jaden sighed. “That’d be fun for like, a minute-long video, maybe. Probably not even that, though. Why are we even arguing this, anyway? Why do you suddenly want everyone to, like, know you’re a ghost? Couldn’t that get, like, weird for you?”

“I’m a ghost, it’s Halloween. I’m in a haunting mood,” Professor Banner told him.

“You’re always in a haunting mood when it comes to me,” Jaden shot back.

“I have to get enjoyment out of being a ghost somehow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of YGOtober everyone... Thank you all so much, whether you came in briefly, stuck through it to the end, or if you're only reading any of it now that it's over. It doesn't matter. I kept up with these better than I thought I would, and maybe all these writing responses to the prompts weren't so great (the prompts were great though!) but I had a lot of fun, I think I wrote some pretty great things here, explored some really fun things, and pushed myself in directions I haven't gone in so much before. Chumley, Zane, Jim... you're all great, and I'm sorry it took me this long to even really write anything for you. Thanks everyone, for taking this journey with me. You're all great, I hope your Octobers went well, and everything is going well for you. 
> 
> I desperately need to go back to Undertale for awhile after this. I have two projects for Undertale desperately needing my attention. And, uh, briefly into Kingdom Hearts, too. If you haven't read them already, I want to get into Return from the Different Dimension and Bacon Saver again soon after that (thus putting me back into my regular schedule), the next chapter of Return from the Different Dimension is planned out but I just need some time and to focus elsewhere, and Bacon Saver's next chapter has been planned out for longer, but first I need to catch up, and make some necessary switches, so that Bacon Saver can become a dub fanfic. Another GX one-shot for that universe should be coming out soon as well, which has been planned even longer than the Bacon Saver update, but again, my focus needs to be elsewhere for now. I'm not sure if I'll write anything for Yugioh outside of that universe soon, but this isn't the end of Yugioh for me! A short break, sure, but not the end. Merely the end of YGOtober, as all months must come to an end. I can't believe it's already been a month since this started...
> 
> No matter how much you read, how little you looked, if any of these little stories put a smile on your face, improved your day even just a little, for just a second or two... This was all worth it. I hope you all enjoyed. Thank you... And I'll be back again soon!


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